Dreaming Of You
by RedHood06
Summary: Ash and May have been separated for to long...its time to see how they both will react when they see each other after Kalos. May has just figured out her true feelings after all these years of being away from him. How will she react when she finds out he is the most powerful trainer alive and what evil will stop her from getting what she wants?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I do not own pokemon and none of the characters**

 **Hello guys and welcome to my first Advanceshipping story! I'm tired of reading the old but best stories that will never be updated again. Please feel free to review as much as you would like because I would love your help. I'm kinda scared because I want to be a big writer here and I hope I do get good reviews. Anyway this will not be the first chapter because I'm trying to figure all this out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own pokemon and none of its characters.**

 **well guys here goes the first chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading just as much as I'm going to enjoy writing it!**

 **well i'll shut up and let you guys read lol**

May was on her way to her home to Petalburg City. She was so excited for Dawn's birthday party! She hadn't changed her style, but she developed a more beautiful physique after the past couple of years of just relaxing in her home. She hadn't done much because there were no contests in Unova. She just travelled through the region with Dawn, Brock, Misty, Max, Paul, Ritchie, Gary, and Tracey. With the new friends Brock made it wasn't a total waste even though a certain trainer wasn't there.

 _I need to get home otherwise the cake is going to melt, May_ thought to herself _._ At that moment, she walked faster and was only a couple seconds away from her door. She open the door to see all her friends there. The first to greet her was Brock _._

 _"_ Great your here with the cake _,_ I will take that _,"_ Brock said while grabbing the cake from May and taking it to the freezer.

"Hey, there you are May!" Dawn said while running up to hug her.

"Yeah, how is the party going Dawn?" May asked her.

"It's going fine. I can't believe Brock met another great chef just like him!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed happily.

"I thank you Dawn. It leaves a great taste in my mouth that you like the food I have prepared," The lime-haired man said as he walked in the room.

"Yeah, the food is awesome Cilan!" May said with a smile.

"May!" her little brother yelled out to her. She was taken back by the outburst but quickly pulled herself together.

"What the heck Max! You don't have to yell I am standing right here!" May yelled to her little brother.

Max ignored the fact that she yelled back at him. He was more excited to tell her the good news. "May guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" Max said with excitement. He was jumping up and down like a little kid waiting for candy.

"What do you want?" May said in a harsh way still angry about his little outburst. "Dad said in a few months, my training for taking over the gym is going to start!" May was taken back at those words.

"What really?!" Dawn and May said in a surprise. May was a little nervous because Max was going to start his training at a young age. If he was jumping up and down just to tell her some news, then it doesn't seem like he is ready.

"Your only 15 Max, why is your dad gonna start training you so young?" Dawn said.

"Well for your information Dawn, Max isn't a bad trainer." Gary said in a sassy voice while walking to where Dawn, Max, and May where at. "Yeah, he actually is after beating me yesterday." Ritchie said in a cocky, squeaky voice while also joining the conversation. "I always thought Max was a good trainer after he beat my gym." Misty said while counting the presents on the table.

"Just please don't ignore dad when he is lecturing you with all his past stories" May said not fully into the conversation anymore.

"Oh, so I made a mistake," Tracey said frustrated. "I crawled out of the room when he wasn't looking. Trust me I didn't want to be rude, but Norman kept going on story after story...I hope he's not mad at me."

"Well at least you weren't like Paul who just walked away right when he began talking." Iris said while looking at Paul.

"I wasn't interested in what he had to say!" Paul said trying to defend himself.

"Whatever, it's time that we sing happy birthday to Dawn everyone!" May exclaimed.

"Yes I can't wait to eat some cake" Max happily said.

As they all sang happy birthday to Dawn, Brock went behind Paul and whispered "Well she's legal now, so you can tell her your true feelings bud." Paul wasn't surprised that Brock had figured out his little secret. Paul chuckled and nodded towards the breeder.

"Hey guys really quick." Dawn said. "Where is Ash Ketchum?!" Dawn stated with a little hint of anger and sadness. Everyone looked down not wanting to hurt the birthday girl or the brunette girl.

Tears started to form in the corner of May's eyes. "We don't know, Dawn..." May said softly sobbing.

"I hate to leave a bad taste in your mouth, but we lost contact with him after we travelled Unova together in the past" Cilan said with his head lowered. "I can't believe I lost contact with Ash!" Brock stated angrily.

Everyone was on the verge of tears except Paul and Gary. Although people could see that Gary's eyes were red and swollen.

 _I should have told him when I had the_ _chance!_ May angrily said in her head not wanting to hint the others about her true feelings towards Ash. She always kept her feelings inside because she was afraid he would reject her. Everyone else knew, however, that the brunette had feelings for the raven-haired trainer, but they didn't want to say anything to her.

At that moment Norman came sprinting in the garden where the party was at. "Guys hurry come quick now!" the gym leader yelled to them. Everyone looked confused at each other, why would Norman do something like that made them all wonder. Everyone ran towards the living room were Caroline and Norman were watching TV. They all gasp at what they saw...

 **Well guys I'm going to leave it with a cliffhanger! Sorry guys but you guys are going to have to wait until tomorrow! How is it going so far guys! Let me know what you guys think! See ya!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own pokémon and none of its characters.**

 **Sorry for the hold up guys. I just wanted to let you guys know that from now on these chapters will be long. At least I'm going to try and make them long. I just finish college finals and now I'm ready to start posting as much as I can.**

 **Did you guys like the first official chapter? I'm going to try and make these chapters kind of long were it might take you like 30 or more minutes to read. It will take some time because me and the person working with me are pretty slow, but we just want to make this story perfect for you guys!**

 **I'm going to give you guys the ages.**

 **Ash:20**

 **May:18**

 **Max:15**

 **Brock:24**

 **Misty:23**

 **Tracey:23**

 **Gary:20**

 **Dawn:18**

 **Paul:20**

 **Iris:18**

 **Cilan:23**

 **Serena:18**

 **Clemont:19**

 **Bonnie:12**

 **Anyway that's enough of me! Enjoy!**

 _(Five minutes before)_

"I hope I can find something to watch on T.V" Norman said searching through the channels.

"Well why don't you put on the something we can both watch and have a little fun" Caroline said with a seductive gaze towards her husband.

"Well, I could put the Kalos champion vs the Unova champion; that should be fun!" Norman exclaimed not getting the hint what his wife was trying to say.

Caroline sighed, no matter what she tried to hint to her husband about love, he was just dense as when she almost left him on their anniversary. It wasn't Norman's fault, though, that he just loved to watch battling just as much as he loved to be in one.

"Look honey the battle is about to begin!" Norman said pointing to the television.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the Champion vs Champion match! Is everyone excited about this battle?" the broadcaster asked."We have a nice battle about to begin. In the red corner we have the Dragon Master himself Drayden!" This caused a loud cheer from the crowd. "And in the green corner we have the most powerful trainer in Kalos, Ash Ketchum!" the man said causing a louder uproar than Drayden's.

"What the heck!" both Norman and his wife screamed. "Honey, quick go get the kids and their friends fast!" Caroline exclaimed to her husband. Norman dashed out to go bring his kids and their friends.

 _(Back to the present)_

"Oh my Arceus! Is that really Ash?!" May yelled.

"What is he doing?" Gary asked.

"Dad, what is going on here?" Max asked.

"Why is he battling Master Drayden?" Iris and Cilan asked simultaneously. Making the two of them look at each other and blush as red as May's old bandanna.

Misty, Brock, Ritchie, Tracey, and Dawn were too flabbergasted to even speak. The boy they once travelled with at one time was right in front of them - now as a champion on television.

"Wait is this the Champion vs Champion match, Mr. Maple?" Paul asked casually.

"Oh, there you are Tracey and Paul! I was wondering where you guys went. I didn't get to finish my story" Norman said causing everyone to fall anime style.

"Sorry Mr. Maple, I kind of crawled away when you weren't looking. But at least I wasn't like Paul who walked away before you could even speak!' Tracey said not wanting to go down alone.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Tracey" Norman said ignoring the fact that Paul walked away, causing everyone again to fall anime style.

"Dad pay attention, what is happening right now? Why is Ash going up against the champion of Unova?" May asked. She was already getting frustrated that her dad was getting off topic. May was beginning to believe what her mom would tell her: that the gym leader gets easily distracted.

"Well May if you must know, Ash is now - and I'm guessing - is the Kalos champion. This match is just for fun, so no title is on the line. It is an exhibition which is for entertainment purposes. However, it does prove which champion is more powerful than the other. My guess is that this is going to be a six on six match and whoever wins will prove he is more powerful than the other" Norman explained to his 18 year old daughter.

"Does anyone else see how muscular Ash has become?" Dawn asked not wanting to be the only one who seen it.

It's true that Ash had changed from the boy they once knew. The person they saw was not a boy anymore, but a man whose muscles developed quite well. They looked more closely at Ash and they realized what a handsome young man he became, which caused May to stare dreamy at the television. After mentally slapping her safe back to reality, she then decided to speak.

"Yeah Dawn, he has changed" May said still admiring her crush's new look.

"Look, the battle is about to begin everyone; let's watch it!" Max announced.

 _(In the Kalos region with Ash)_

"You ready for this Pikachu?" The young man told his yellow companion.

"Pika Chu Pikapi" the yellow rodent smiled as it clenched its fist.

"I won't lose with my friends supporting me - and because I doubt Serena will ever forgive me if I lose this match on her birthday" the young man said staring at the VIP box. In the booth was a young man a little younger than Ash; his name is Clemont. Next to Clemont was his little sister, Bonnie. But next to Bonnie was Serena - his best friend of the three companions.

 _I hope I can end this match quickly to take her out for her birthday, but I can't underestimate Drayden and his team of Dragons_ The raven-haired trainer thought _._

"Are the champions ready?" The man in the yellow sweater asked.

"Ready when you are Master Ash Ketchum" said the muscular old Dragon Master.

"Good luck Master Drayden!" yelled Ash Ketchum.

"Sent out your first Pokémon, Master Drayden!" the referee stated.

"Alright then, go Druddigon!" Drayden said which released a red-head blue dragon.

"Druuuu!" the dragon Pokémon roared fiercely.

"Druddigon huh" said Ash.

"Pipi Pikachu" the thunder Pokémon said.

"Alright then, I know the perfect choice for this - I choose you!" Ash said throwing up the Pokéball in the air.

 **And done! Sorry guys but here comes another cliffhanger! You guys are probably excited just as much as I am! I am having a blast writing this story and there are more chapters to come, so just wait.**

 **What do you guys think so far? Is it getting exciting? Are you guys ready for Ash to take on the Dragon Master Drayden? I can't wait to start on the battle scene! It's going to be my first so you guys judge me on how I can make it better ok? I am open to any advice on that!**

 **Anyway guys review please because I'll take any advice you guys give me ok. I hope you guys and girls enjoy this chapter. I will try an update tomorrow. Alright see ya!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not uploading guys, I have been battling a really bad cold and haven't been able to get out of bed. Also, I have finals this week for college so it's been hell lately. But I'm back because I have you guys!**

 **Have you guys been enjoying the story? I have and I love to write it. It's gonna take me forever to start writing these chapters because they are going to get longer.**

 **What do you guys read my story on a computer or phone? I did all my reading on my phone!**

 **Anyway, I'm gonna stop talking and let you guys read!**

 **I don't own Pokémon and none of the characters!**

"Greninija!" the blue frog said out loud.

"Ash, I must say your Greninja looks well trained," Drayden complemented his foe. Drayden was a little worried, though. " _Why did Ash choose Greninja if water can't_ _hurt my Druddigon?_ " The dragon master shrugged off the thought; he needed to focus on the battle.

"Your move Drayden!" Ash said in a confident tone.

"Druddigon use Dragon Claw!" Drayden ordered.

Druddigon's claws began to glow white as it charged forward to Greninja. Druddigon got close to Greninja and swiped his claws at the water and dark type. Without a second to waste, Greninja jumped in the air before the move could land. Greninja's back was to its opponent.

"How did your Greninja dodge without you telling it what to do?" Drayden asked with both anger and confusion in his voice.

"I did tell it to dodge, but I didn't say it out loud. Although it took me a couple of months, I am able to speak to every of my Pokémon telepathically"

"Impressive Ash, but even so that will not be enough to beat me! Now Druddigon use Focus Blast!" Drayden yelled. The red head dragon formed a blue ball between its hands and threw it towards Greninja.

"Counter it with water pulse, then follow up with dark pulse before it can have a chance to move" Ash ordered. Greninja jumped in the air and formed a water ball in its hands and threw it towards the Focus Blast. Both attacks collided and an explosion in the battle field occurred. Both Drayden and Druddigon shield their eyes from the smoke, and out from the smoke, black rings a dark beam hit the red blue dragon on its head.

"Druuuu!" Druddigon yelled in pain.

"Druddigon are you ok?" Drayden ask even after his Pokémon stood up and shook off the pain.

"Ash, I thought you were going to battle with me by speaking to your Pokémon telepathically" the Unova champion asked the Kalos champion.

"Yeah, but if I did that throughout the entire battle it wouldn't be that exciting" Ash explained.

"I see your point. You think if you'd battle like that all the time you wouldn't have much fun because your opponent would always have the disadvantage"

" _I thought I just said that in a much simpler way,_ " Ash thought as he raised an eyebrow. "Now Greninja use Ice Beam!"

"Gren!" Greninja exclaimed as it jumped in the air forming an ice ball in its mouth.

"Quick counter it with Flash Cannon" Drayden said quickly trying to avoid critical damage to his dragon type.

"Greninja!" said the ninja-frog as it shot a beam of ice towards Druddigon who was already forming a purple ball in its hand. "Druddigon" said the red-head dragon, throwing its Flash Cannon to the Ice Beam. Both attacks collided in the middle of the battle field. But the Flash Cannon was getting overpowered by Ice Beam.

"Impossible, steel types have an advantage over ice types!" Drayden explained getting frustrated.

"I have trained my Pokémon to overcome their disadvantages" the Kalos champion told the white bearded-man.

"Disadvantage or not, your Greninja will fall now! Druddigon use Flamethrower on it then follow it up with Focus Blast!"

"Dru!" Druddigon said not wanting to fail his master. Druddigon shot out a flame to Greninja that reached him in seconds. Greninja jumped forgetting what was coming next after the Flamethrower.

"Greninja look out!" Ash yelled to his water starter. Greninja turned around and saw a blue energy ball in time to see it directly collide with its stomach.

"Sorry Ash, looks like your Greninja is out" Drayden said through the smoke.

"Guess again Drayden. Now Greninja use Ice Beam" Ash said to the Unova Champion. Drayden was confused at the young trainer's words but soon saw what he meant. He saw Greninja on the field angry at the attack he was hit by. Greninja then jumped in the air to shoot a powerful beam of ice at Druddigon.

"What?! How?!" Drayden said in confusion.

"My Greninja is one of the Pokémon who helped me become the Kalos champion; we don't lose and we won't lose! Now Greninja use Water Shuriken before Druddigon can get back up" Ash quickly said. Greninja then jumped in the air and launched its strongest water attack on Druddigon.

"Dru!" Druddigon screamed in pain.

"Druddigon!" Drayden screamed in fear for his Pokémon. The red head Pokémon went down on one knee painting for air. "Are you still good to go on my friend?" Drayden asked his loyal Pokémon even if he knew it wouldn't give up.

"Dru" Druddigon said to his master.

"Alright, let's end this with Focus Blast!" The rough skin dragon shot a blue sphere to its opponent.

"Quick Greninja, counter it with Water Shuriken!" Ash said to the water and dark type. As the Focus Blast was reaching its target, it was intercepted by Water Shuriken and eventually destroyed by it.

"Greninja, quickly get to Druddigon and use Ice Beam" Ash quickly commanded. His water starter swiftly moved like a ninja to his opponent and released a powerful close range Ice Beam to Druddigon's body. The dragon master's eyes widened as he saw his poor Pokémon take a super effective move head on.

"Drud-digon" Druddigon said as it fell to the floor unconsciously.

The whole crowd gasp, then they cheered that finally one of the champion's Pokémon had finally fallen after a long battle.

"Return Druddigon; good job my friend…Ash, this next Pokémon isn't going down that easy" Drayden said as a red beam enveloped the dragon.

"That was 'going down easy?!'" Ash yelled in shock while returning his Greninja.

"Go Hydreigon!" Drayden said as the pseudo legendary appeared.

" _Damn it! For some reason I knew he would have a Hyderigon! Alright, I know who can end this match quickly_ " Ash thought.

"Go Feraligatr!" Ash said as he tossed a Lure ball in the air.

"Feraligatr!" the big jaw Pokémon roared as it appeared on the field.

 **Alright guys that's it for me. I know you guys wanted the whole battle scene and I wanted to keep writing it, but I need to know if I'm doing a good job on the battle scenes. So review and tell me how I am doing. I have read all the reviews and I will try and add some of your ideas but this story is design for those advanceshippers who want this story to happen after Ash goes through Kalos; but I will try guys.**

 **Anyways, are you guys enjoying this story?! Did you guys like the battle scene? Give me tips on how I can make the battle scenes better.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Pokémon and none of the characters.**

 **What's up guys I am back for another update! I have been working on this battle scene for quite a while now. I still am new to the battle scenes but I do love writing them.**

 **Does anyone know why this story is named Dreaming of You? I could give you guys a hint. I heard it on Pandora and thought of this whole entire story in just five minutes.**

 **Anyways, please read and review guys; it really helps a lot!**

 **Enjoy!**

 _(Petalburg City in Hoenn)_

No one in the Maple house could even speak. They were all too stunned at the power that the Kalos Champion had just displayed. None of them even believed the boy they once knew would even become a champion. Everyone couldn't believe their eyes at what was happening. Finally, one of them decided to speak.

"...Umm does anyone else notice that Ash's little Totodile isn't so little anymore?" Misty said with a little of fear in her voice.

"Misty, I think it evolved" Max stated the obvious.

"What happened to its playful nature? Wasn't Totodile always jumping around?" Dawn asked curiously.

"I don't know Dawn" May said. She was still stunned at how Ash was so powerful; she couldn't think straight. It was as if the trainer she once knew didn't exist anymore.

"We don't know either Dawn" Gary said referring to himself, Cilian, Iris, Tracey, and Ritchie.

"Are you guys really that clueless?!" Paul said frustrated. This turn everyone's attention towards him wanting to hear what Ash's ex-rival had to say. "That once joyful Totodile you guys knew grew up. It's not the same nice, little water-type as before...there something different about that Feraligatr" Paul said pointing towards the television where the Feraligatr appeared with a devious smile on its face.

"At least it still smiles" May awkwardly stated.

"Look! The battle is going to start!" Max exclaimed. Everyone turn their attention towards the television to continue watching the battle.

 _(Back in Kalos)_

"Use Tri-Attack!" Drayden commanded.

The three headed black dragon through its three heads back and fired an ice, thunder, and fire beam towards the big jaw Pokémon. The three attacks formed into one making the attack look deadlier. But Ash was already a step ahead of his opponent.

"Intercept it with Hydro Pump!" Ash quickly said.

Feraligatr shot out a jet of water with incredible speed. The powerful water attack collided with its target. Both attacks kept pushing each other back and forth, but the Hydro pump was starting to overpower the Tri-Attack. It ended up hitting Hydreigon and caused quite a bit of damage. This surprised everyone including the dragon master.

"How is that possible?!" Drayden exclaimed. "How do three attacks lose to one especially since one of the attacks had the advantage?

"Drayden, all of my Pokémon have been trained really well. We have pushed ourselves to pass our limits," Ash explained to the Unova champion. "Feraligatr use Ice Punch!" The fully evolved Pokémon rushed towards the dark and dragon Pokémon with incredible speed. Even though Drayden was still flustered from the attack before, he was able to think of a strategy to safe his pseudo legendary and counter the attack.

"Quick, Hydreigon fly up and use Dragon Pulse!" the muscular old man said.

The three-headed dragon quickly flew up and avoided the Ice Punch. It then shot out a blue sphere of energy towards its target's head. It made contact with Feraligatr which caused a big explosion to happen in the middle of the battle field. Daryden thought for sure that it would be the end of Ash's Pokémon, until the smoked cleared up to see that Feraligatr wasn't there.

"What?! Where is he? He wouldn't be fast enough to dodge that!" Drayden explained getting a little frustrated. He started looking for his opponent's Pokémon, only to see Feraligatr in the air. "How did he get up there?" Drayden asked in confusion.

"I had Feraligatr use Hydro pump on the ground to send him flying. Now use Superpower to bring Hydreigon back to the ground!" the raven-haired trainer said. Feraligatr's arms grew big and white. He then went straight down towards his opponent and slammed his arms on the dark types back.

"Rrrr..." Hydreigon winced at the pain. Hydreigon went crashing down making the ground shake.

"Feraligatr!" the Johto starter roared.

"Hydreigon won't go down that easy! Now get up and use Charge Beam!" the Unova champion roared.

The minute it heard its name, the dragon type got up and fired Charge Beam to the water starter. The move was so fast Ash didn't have time to react and can only see his Pokémon take a powerful electric attack.

"Fera!" Feraligatr cried out in pain. The Charge Beam was proving why it was a super effective move.

"Feraligatr, quick get out of there!" Ash pleaded to his Pokémon.

"No you don't, Hydreigon use Dragon Pulse before it can escape!" Drayden quickly acted before the Pokémon could escape.

Hydreigon quickly shot out a Dragon Pulse to hit a recovering Feraligatr that was trying to stand up. The move, which collided with its target, caused an explosion that was so strong it made the entire stadium go up in smoke. Ash was confused as to why the impact was so enormous.

"How was that move so powerful?"

"Remember, Charge Beam raises the Special Attack of the user, and Hydreigon is a really powerful Special Attacker," Drayden explained.

"Were not done yet though. Feraligatr use Ice Fang!" Ash said confidently.

"Ash, your Feraligatr has fallen," Drayden explained.

At that moment the blue alligator jumped out of the smoke with its fangs glowing blue. It then bit the dragon causing it to cry in pain.

"Use Superpower before it can recover!" the Kalos champion commanded.

The Johto started quickly slammed his fists into the pseudo legendary Pokémon's back. Hydreigon fell down and stayed down.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Feraligatr!" The referee stated.

"Feraligatr!" the water starter roared.

"I'm impressed Ash! No one has ever been able to withstand my Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse and get back up—not to mention knock it out after," the muscular Unova champion explained.

"Thanks Drayden, but it was Feraligatr and his impressive attacks and willpower to succeed," the Kalos champion told his foe.

Both trainers returned their Pokémon at the same time. Drayden pulled out a Pokéball and threw it in the air. A white flash appeared and the Pokémon took flight fast as a speeding bullet. The Pokémon was orange and had a rather clam yet happy expression on its face.

"Ruu?" the Kanto pseudo legendary said.

"You ready Dragonite?" Drayden asked his Pokémon. It turned around and made a confident smile to his master, not wanting to let him down. Though it seemed nice and playful, Dragonite was not one to lose when sent out to battle. It had too much pride to let his master down.

"You ready buddy? Let's end this quickly" Ash told his longtime friend.

"Pika!" Pikachu said as he jumped onto the battle field making a battle stance. It would not be the first Dragonite that Pikachu has faced. However, the yellow mouse knew this one would be even more difficult than the one from the Orange Islands.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash said pointing towards Dragonite.

"Dragonite, use thunderbolt as well," Drayden quickly countered.

Both electric attacks hit each other straight on causing them to cancel out. Dragonite flew towards Pikachu with incredible speed that would put any other Dragonite to shame.

"Use Dragon Claw before it Pikachu can move," Drayden quickly said.

Dragonites claws grew big and green. He then slammed his claws to the rodent's body making it squeal in pain.

"Pika!" the little thunder Pokémon cried out in pain.

"Pikachu, quick use Electro Ball before Dragonite can move" Ash countered still worried about his friend.

"Pika-Pikachu!" the thunder Pokémon said charging up a ball made of electricity. Pikachu launched a powerful Electro Ball from his tail. It hurdled towards the yellow dragon Pokémon at a fast rate that not even Dragonite could move in time. The ball of electricity exploded when it made contact with Dragonite.

"Raaa!" Dragonite cried out in pain. Normally, this wouldn't have much effect on him but this was different; it was from a very powerful Pokémon that not even his training could've prepared him in this situation.

"Dragonite is unable to battle. The winner of this battle is Pikachu!" The referee said. This caused the crowd to yell in excitement. Never has a champion lost a pokemon in just one shot before.

"I don't understand. How did Pikachu hurt Dragonite so badly? Surely my Dragonite could handle an attack like that," the Unova champion said in confusion.

"Drayden, my Pikachu is the most powerful Pokémon I have...just look at your Dragonite" the raven-haired champion explained.

At that moment Drayden looked at his poor dragon Pokémon and was baffled. Never in his entire time of being the Unova champion has he seen his Pokémon go down in one hit, especially from a tiny little Pikachu!

Ash was right about his best friend, though. They have been together since Ash started his journey to become a Pokémon master. Out of all his Pokémon, Pikachu had put in so much work in their training. Ash thought about how Pikachu would even not sleep; he would just keep training because he didn't want to lose any more of his battles. Pikachu thought that if he was the leader of Ash's Pokemon he would have to prove why Ash would leave him in charge whenever Ash went to do something else.

"Wow Ash… I have never seen my Dragonite go down in just one hit. I must really say that you have earned the title of Kalos Champion" Drayden complemented on his opponents Pokémon.

"Thanks Drayden" Ash said still in thought about the hard work Pikachu has put in.

"Shall we continue?" Drayden asked.

"Yeah, Pikachu come back here" Ash told his friend. Pikachu went back to his best friend and rubbed his cheek on Ash's. "We have to talk after this okay buddy?" Ash said to Pikachu.

"Pika-ka-Pikapi" Pikachu agreed with his friend.

Both trainers pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it into the air. Both Pokémon roared as they enter the battlefield. They glared at each other yet smiled. They both knew it was going to be a good battle between them.

"You ready Flygon?" ask Drayden even though he knew his ground and dragon type was already in his battle stance.

"How about you Lapras?" Ash asked her. Lapras turned to her master and nodded.

"Flygon, use Dragon Claw," Drayden calmly said.

"Wait for it Lapras then use Ice Beam," Ash said to his Pokémon quietly.

Flygon threw itself towards Lapras unaware she was charging an attack. Flygon's arms became green and his claws were long. Flygon then slashed Lapras, but the water-ice type didn't react. When Flygon flew a step back, she fired the Ice Beam to his wing. Flygon was unable to fly any longer and went down to his feet.

"Quick use Body Slam!" Ash quickly said.

"Counter with Thunder Punch," the muscular champion said.

Lapras jumped high in the sky not being able to be seen by its opponent. Flygon's wing then thawed out and was able to reach his opponent before she can land her attack. The ground type just moved out the way were Lapras was going to land. The dragon type just flew like a jet towards his opponent and collided with a super effective thunder move.

"Laa!" Lapras cried out.

"Lapras!" Ash worriedly cried out.

"Switch to Draco Meteor fast," Drayden quickly said.

Ash knew that if that move were to land his Lapras would be really hurt. There was only one move that could save her but, Ash knew they hadn't practice it enough for it to work but it was worth a shot.

"Lapras, Sheer Cold!" Ash quickly countered with.

Lapras threw her head back and unleashed the move perfectly. The ice formed into a ball and a beam mixed together and landed on its target. Ash knew that was the end of Flygon and so did Drayden.

"Flygon is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Lapras!"

"Wow, that was very quick thinking my friend" Drayden said to the Kalos champion.

"Actually, Drayden you almost had us there for a minute. If Flygon would have used Draco Meteor, my Lapras would have been knocked out for sure." Ash said returning his Pokémon.

The dragon master was tired of losing his Pokemon. He knew that if he lost another one of his comrades it would difficult to win with only two Pokemon. "Ash, my next Pokémon is another Pseudo Legendary" the Unova campion warned his opponent. At the moment Drayden threw his Pokéball in the air showing his powerful dragon.

"Salamence…damn it" Ash complained to himself. He then threw another Pokéball in the air. A big majestic bird flew around Ash.

"Pidgeot" Pidgeot shrieked.

"I'm happy your back for this battle Pidgeot" Ash told his bird.

Pidgeot turned to smile to its trainer. He had promise all those years he would come back for him, and his trainer kept his promise. Pidgeot still remembered how happy it was to see his old friend.

"Salamence use Flamethrower," Drayden said.

The red-winged dragon fired a flame so massive it made people in the crowd sweat. Pidgeot just disappeared making everyone, except his master, gasp.

"Use Aerial Ace," Ash quickly said.

(Hoenn with May and the others)

Boom!

"What was that!?" May asked intimidated by the loud sound.

"That Pidgeot just broke the sound barrier!" Paul exclaimed.

"But how could we have heard something like that from here?" Dawn asked.

"Well, Kalos is not that far from Hoenn. It was a possibility that we could have heard it—though it was a very small possibility," Brock stated to everyone.

Everyone in the Maple household were so shocked. How could a Pokemon become that fast?

(Kalos with Ash)

Pidgeot slammed his beak into Salamence's back. The pseudo legendary cried out in pain. He didn't even see the attack coming.

"Sa!" Salamence cried out in agony.

"Get it together! Use Dragon Pulse," the muscular champion exclaimed.

Salamence charged up a blue sphere and shot it at the bird. Pidgeot barely had enough time to react as it tried to dodge the Dragon Pulse, but it was able to land on its wing. This angered the bird. He loved his speed just as much as he loved his master.

"Pidgeot are you okay?" Ash asked concerned for his Pokemon.

"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot assured his master.

"Really? Ok get behind Salamence!" Ash quickly said.

"Salamence don't let it; use Draco Meteor!" Drayden said wanting to at least win one battle against the Kalos champion.

Salamence shot out an orange ball in the air. It then exploded into orange meteors and started to go all over the battlefield. Pidgeot was trying to avoid all the meteors, but it was hit by a couple of them. However, he was still able to get behind Salamence.

"Now end this with Brave Bird!" Ash said trying to end this battle already.

The bird became enveloped in flames and then turned blue. It charged forward and landed its attack on the Pseudo Legendary. Salamence was falling to the ground extremely fast. Ash quickly commanded Pidgeot to save Salamence before the dragon could take further damage from an impact.

"Thanks Ash" Drayden thanked his opponent.

"No I'm sorry. I think I kind of overdid it with that last move" Ash apologized while returning his Pidgeot.

"This is a battle; don't worry my young adversary" the old muscular man said returning his fainted pseudo legendary.

"Salamence is unable to battle. The winner of this battle is Pidgeot!" the referee stated. "Drayden, please send out your last Pokemon."

"You ready to end this Drayden?" the Kalos champion asked.

"I am in fact. You know who is coming up right?" the Unova champion asked throwing his Pokeball in the air.

"Haxorus!" Haxorus roared.

"This battle is going to end perfect" Ash said throwing his Poke ball in the air.

"Bra!" Charizard cried. The giant, orange lizard was wearing an armored necklace with a small crystal in the middle.

"Haxorus use Dragon Claw" Drayden said.

The axe pokemon ran towards his opponent and slashed with his big green claws. Charizard just smacked him away with his tail.

"Use Dragonbreath," Ash said.

The fire lizard shot out a green breath towards his opponent. The attack landed perfectly, but Haxorus just shook it off like nothing.

"Drayden, I'm sorry but this match is going to end now!" Ash exclaimed feeling something for his wrist.

"You don't mean.." Drayden said before he was cut off.

"Charizard REACT!" Ash pressing the Mega ring.

Chairzard started to change form. It grew sharper, larger wings on its back, wings on its arm, four spikes on its tail, and a larger horn on top of its head. It also looked skinnier and had a larger flame on its tail.

"Meet Mega Charizard Y," Ash said to Drayden. It then became intensely hot because of the mega pokemon's special ability—drought.

"I have to end this now before the situation gets critical! Haxorus use Draco Meteor!" Drayden said.

"Don't let him! Charizard use Blast Burn!" Ash countered.

Charizard punched the ground. Lava was flowing around the green dragon. Haxorus was then taken up into the air by the ground until an explosion happened. The big green dragon lied their beaten badly and burned. Drayden then returned his dragon and walked up to Ash.

"Haxorus is unable to battle. The winner of this battle is Charizard, which means the winner of this match is the Kalos Champion, Ash Ketchum!" The referee exclaimed. The crowd erupted in cheers as the battle concluded. Ash walked up to his Pokemon to congratulate it on the win.

"Thanks buddy. Get a nice rest okay," Ash said to Charizard as the orange lizard returned to his normal form. Ash then took out his Poke ball and returned him.

"That was a great battle my friend," Drayden said with his arm out which Ash gladly shook.

"Thanks Drayden. You were awesome!" Ash said.

"It has been a while since someone has swept my team like that. For beating me you are now the strongest trainer in both Kalos and Unova" the Unova champion addressed to the young champion. Drayden then started to walk out of the battle field.

"Well, Pikachu let's go" Ash said to his buddy.

"Pika!" Pikachu said to Ash.

"Oh, that's right we got to take Serena out to dinner!" Ash ran towards his friends. "You guys ready to go out for Serena's b-day?" Ash asked his Kalos friends.

"Yay! You didn't forget!" Serena said pulling Ash into a hug and taking his hand to walk towards the restaurant.

"Congrats Ash!" Bonnie said happily with her Dedenne in her purse.

"Yeah, congrats on your victory Ash!" Clemont said to his friend.

The gang walked towards the restaurant with Serena still holding on to Ash.

(Hoenn with May and the others)

"Did you guys see that?!" Max exclaimed excited to see his mentor battle.

"He has become really powerful," Paul smirk.

"Did anyone see what happen to his Charizard?" asked Ritchie.

"It's called Mega Evolution," Norman stated.

"What is that dad?" Max asked his father.

"Well I don't know too much about it, but it's when a certain Pokemon goes through another evolution. Only a few Pokemon have the power to Mega Evolve. Also, the trainer and the Pokemon must become one before the Pokemon undergo Mega Evolution" the father of the Maple family explained, leaving everyone speechless. Finally, May decided to break the silence.

"Does anyone know how to contact him?!" May asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"We need to congratulate him!" Dawn said.

"Of course we need to congratulate him, but it's not easy to get in contact with a champion even if he is your friend. Nevertheless, we don't where he's going to travel to next," Gary said.

That's when the television started to talk again. "Please join us next time when our Kalos Champion takes on the Sinnoh champion herself, Cynthia, in Kalos!" the broadcaster said.

"Well, that's very convenient," Gary stated happily.

"That's how were going to see him! We are going to buy tickets to his next battle and hope he notices us!" May stated.

"That's a delicious idea you just served us, May," Cilian said.

"We leave for Kalos tomorrow!" May said.

The gang all agreed. They all went to bed and packed—ready for the big day tomorrow!

 _"_ _I will tell him how I feel this time_!" May thought in her head as she was in her bed. She quickly fell asleep ready to tell the whole world she has feelings for Ash Ketchum.

 **Sorry for taking so long guys! I was working hard on this chapter! I'm finally done writing this so I'm pretty happy. Again guys I'm sorry for taking so long. It took me awhile to write this. Then it took my editor awhile to. I owe my editor a lot, because he did the whole chapter in one day.**

 **Like I said sorry for taking so long guys! Please review!**

 **By the way I read your guys review. I will put the backstory maybe next chapter and if I don't I will put it in the chapter after that!**

 **Thanks for waiting guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Pokémon and none of its characters.**

 **Well, I'm back guys with another chapter with Dreaming of You. Did you guys enjoy the last chapter? I tried my best on the battle scenes, but I will keep improving them by making them a little longer. A backstory will come soon when the group finally meets Ash. I'm also not trying to spoil the story while trying to inform you guys about the backstory.**

 **Well, I will shut up now and let you guys read! Remember guys don't forget to review because that helps! Enjoy!**

 _(Meanwhile in Kalos)_

"I will have the steak with mashed potatoes, please!" Bonnie said to the waitress.

"Sure! What about you, sir?" the waitress said to Clemont writing down the little girl's order.

"Can I have the M burger, please?" Clemont asked the waitress.

"Of course you can sweetie! And for you, ma'am?" the waitress gesturing to Serena in a cheerful expression.

"I will have the Stuffed Lobster Rayna, please," Serena replied.

"Okay, and for you si-" the waitress stopped when she realized who was with them at the table. "Oh my Arceus! It's the champion of Kalos, Ash Ketchum!" the waitress screamed like a crazy fan girl.

"Please, call me Ash. If you don't mind...Erin," Ash said reading her nametag, "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't say my name out loud, please. I don't want anyone to interfere with me and my friends' dinner because it's my friend's birthday here," the raven-haired champion said pointing towards Serena.

"It will be my honor! Now what would the Champion of Kalos like for dinner?" the ecstatic waitress asked the young champion.

"I'll just have what she is having, please," Ash said to her.

"Okay...and for drinks?" the waitress asked.

"Four Raspberry Ice Teas, please," the Auburn-eyed trainer said.

"Alright, I will be right back with your drinks," the waitress said and left.

When no one was looking, a little yellow rodent went under the table with a smaller and orange version of himself—they were eating bottles ketchup.

'Pika! Chuuu!" Pikachu stated happily.

"Nena!" Dedenne also squealed in a joyful expression.

"What are you guys doing under there?" the raven-haired trainer asked picking up the tablecloth. "Hey! Put those ketchup bottles back! How many have you guys eaten?"

"Pika-Pika-Chu-Pika!" Pikachu said not wanting to give up his bottles of ketchup. Dedenne had already bailed to Bonnie's purse, leaving Pikachu alone.

"C'mon buddy, the food is about to show up," the trainer informed his Pokémon. Pikachu then jumped onto Ash's lap which earned the electric mouse a soft scratch under his chin.

"Chaaa," Pikachu said happily.

"Here are your drinks," Erin started handing them each a cup filled with Raspberry Ice Tea.

"Thanks!" everyone in the table said to the waitress.

"So Ash, I thought your battle went quite well today," Serena said taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah Ash, Pikachu never looked so powerful!" stated the youngest girl.

"But Charizard looked really impressive too!" the blond-haired teen with glasses informed to his friend. "You really did great today, Ash."

"Thanks guys, but it's all thanks to my Pokémon," the Kalos champion said. He didn't like it when people would give him credit for his Pokémon's performance. He thought all the credit should go to his Pokémon; he was, though, the person that made them more powerful than what they already were.

"Here is your food you guys; enjoy your meal!" Erin said before she left.

"Before we eat, I just want to make a couple of announcements," Ash commented. "First, happy birthday Serena! You are one of my best friends. Besides Pikachu, you were always there for me Serena from the start of this journey, and I just want to thank you again for always being there."

"Thanks Ash!" Serena exclaimed. If it wasn't a little dark where they were at, you could see a slight blush that had appeared on the honey blond-haired girl.

"Well, let's eat!" Bonnie said.

 _(20 minutes later)_

"That was a delicious meal...thank you, Ash."

"It's no problem, Serena; I hope you enjoyed your birthday dinner," Ash told her happily.

"I think it's time we go back to our hotel. Are you going back to the Champion's Suite?" Clemont asked the Kalos champion.

Ash simply nodded.

"Okay; thanks again for the dinner, Ash," Serena said walking up to hug him.

"Happy birthday Serena...take care guys," Ash said hugging Serena.

 _(Walking towards the Kalos Suite)_

"Hey Pikachu," Ash called.

"Pikapi?"

"I'm so proud of you, buddy," the raven-haired trainer said sincerely. "You are the most powerful Pokémon I have. You have worked so hard to get to where you are now. You trained day-and-night trying to perfect every move you know. You wanted to prove why you were my first and most powerful Pokémon ever, and you did it in today's battle. I just wanted to let you know, Pikachu, that I really am proud of you. If it had to be me and you against the world, I would be glad to be with my best buddy."

"Pika-Pika-Chu-Chuchupi-Ka-Chu-Pikapi" Pikachu said to his trainer.

"Thanks buddy, and we can only get stronger, right?" the auburn-eyed trainer said opening the door to his suite.

"Pika!"

Ash went inside his suite with his pal on his shoulder. They did their normal routine—both went to get washed up in the bathroom. Then Ash changed into his sleepwear which was only socks, boxers, and shorts—no shirt. The duo went to bed and made themselves comfortable; the little mouse climbed onto his master's stomach and curled up into a little ball. They both feel asleep quickly, tired from the events that happened today. Their lives were going great, but they would soon be in for the surprise of a lifetime.

 _(The next morning in Hoenn)_

"Well guys, are you ready to go?"

"May, it's too early to wake up," Dawn said not opening her eyes.

Dawn was right. It was barely six in the morning, and May was already ready to leave. The brunette- haired girl didn't give up on waking up her friend, though. She started to pull Dawn by the legs to get her to wake up. Dawn, however, knew she was going to pull her out of bed, so she grabbed the bed handles to make the task more difficult.

"Come on, Dawn," May said pulling her.

"No, not yet," Dawn whined.

May sighed. Then she casually stated, "I guess I should tell Paul how you feel about him..."

"Wait, you can't!" Dawn exclaimed getting out of bed to stop the brunette from leaving.

"Ha! Your out of bed...now get dressed so we can leave!" May stated and walked out of the room.

"Aww fine," Dawn said grabbing her stuff and walking towards the bathroom.

"Oh by the way, please wake up Misty."

"But she's scary, May," Dawn exclaimed timidly.

"That's why it's your job," May said and left. "Oh by the way, don't forget Iris too," May came back to tell her and then left to wake up the others.

May then walked towards her brother's room. She opened the door to see a sleeping Max on his bed, and Tracey, Gary, and Ritchie on the floor also sleeping.

"Guys, wake up!" May screamed.

This awoke everyone from their slumber. Max fell out the bed, and everyone else had a startled look on their face from the brunette's outburst.

"Oh good, you guys are up. Let's get ready to go guys," May stated sweetly.

She then twirled around and started to walk towards the living room. She found Cilan, Brock, and Paul sleeping on different couches.

"Guys, wake up it time to go," May said not wanting to wake them up like she did with the other guys.

"Go away," a sleepy Paul moaned.

"Alright, I didn't want to have to do this. Wake up!" May screamed again.

"Nurse Joy!" Brock said waking up from his sleep. He was confused at first, but when he didn't see Nurse Joy, he quickly went back to sleep.

"Is it time for me to make breakfast already?" Cilan said rubbing his eyes to wake up.

"Really May? Fine were up...get up lover boy," Paul said tossing a pillow to Brock's face.

"I'm up, I'm up," Brock said quickly sitting up from the couch.

"The sooner we leave, the sooner we will be at Kalos for Ash's battle tomorrow," the brunette said.

With her goal of waking up everyone accomplished, May turned around and went to the garden to gather her Pokémon. When she came back, everyone was in the kitchen sitting down on the table. Cilan and Brock were in the kitchen making breakfast; Misty, Dawn, Gary, Paul, Norman, Tracey, Caroline, and Iris were having coffee while Max was sitting down waiting for the food to be prepared. May thought this would be a perfect time to tell them about her feelings towards Ash.

"…Um everyone," May said getting everyone's attention.

"What is it, May?" Dawn asked somewhat worried.

"…Um there is another reason why I want to go to Kalos," May said hesitantly. "I haven't told you guys how I feel about Ash. I have been having these feelings for him for a long time now," she was scared about what her father would say even though she is old enough to make her own decisions.

"Wow really! We didn't know that," Paul stated sarcastically which caused everyone except Norman to laugh.

"May, for your information we've known of your feelings of Ash for quite some time now," Misty told the brunette girl.

"How?" May asked in confusion.

"The way you travelled through Unova made it pretty obvious," Paul simply stated. "You always seem to bring him up in discussions, and if we discussed him on our own, you would volunteer yourself into the conversation. You would have to be stupidly dense not to see it."

"Well, at least it's out of my chest now," the Hoenn coordinator stated.

"May, I don't understand…I like Ash too, so what is the difference?" Norman said in confusion. This caused everyone to face-palm.

 _"_ _My point exactly,"_ Paul thought while rubbing his hand on his head. _"_ _Why am I here again?"_

"Oh honey…what our daughter is trying to say is that she might be in love with Ash," Caroline told her husband.

"Oh…why didn't you just say so May?" Norman asked his daughter causing everyone to fall down anime style.

May sighed; she wasn't going to say anything because she didn't want to make her father seem clueless. Brock and Cilan finished making breakfast and served everyone including themselves. After a delicious breakfast, Iris received a phone call. Everyone went to the phone room to see a screen with the Unova Champion.

"Hello Iris," the Dragon master said.

"Hey Master Drayden; that was an awesome battle you had with Ash yesterday!" Iris exclaimed

"Oh, you saw it? Yes, it was a good battle. He has gotten even more powerful than before," Drayden told Iris.

"How did you know I would be at the Petalburg Gym?" Iris asked.

"Well, I knew you were in Hoenn with your friends," the Unova champion simply explained. "In my one conversation with Max, he talked about his father being the Gym Leader in Petalburg. By the way, hello everyone."

"Hello Master Drayden," everyone but Iris said.

"Anyways Iris, I want to know if you can come back to the Village of Dragons?" Drayden said.

"Why? We were just going to Kalos to meet up with Ash," Iris simply said.

"Well, even if you're his friends it won't be easy to get to him," Drayden stated. "That is not the point, though; I need a training partner that can keep up with my routine. Ash swept through my team easily, and I cannot allow another trainer to do it with ease as he accomplished. It will only be a couple of days, then you can go meet up with your friends in Kalos."

"I'll go with you, Iris," Cilan said.

"You will? Aw thanks Cilan," Iris expressed her gratitude to her friend.

This both made them blush.

"Thank you, Iris. See you two soon; bye everyone," Drayden said, but before the screen went black Ritchie blurted something out.

"Wait, can I battle you, Master Drayden?" Ritchie told the Unova champion.

"Sure you can," Drayden kindly said.

"Alright! See you soon then," Ritchie said.

The screen went black. Everyone went silent. They were all planning to see Ash, but now some of them were going to Unova. Dawn decided to break the silence.

"Well, the good thing is it's only temporary," Dawn said.

"Yeah, we'll all be together again soon, and Ash will be with us when you guys return," May told the trio who were already about to leave.

"Take care everyone" Cilan said walking out of the house with Iris and Ritchie.

"Good luck with your battle, Ritchie!" Max yelled to the walking trio.

"Thanks! See you guys soon!" Ritchie yelled back.

"Hey guys, if you want we can go on my Battle Pyramid?" Paul asked.

"That's right, you took over Brandon's position after he retired," Gary remembered.

"That's a great idea! It also saves us money from buying traveling tickets," Tracey said.

"Yeah, it's also faster than a regular airplane, so it will only be an eight-hour flight," Paul informed the group.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" May exclaimed. "Bye mom and dad!"

Everyone said their goodbyes to the Maple parents. Then the group went towards Paul's Battle Pyramid and took off within a few seconds. They were ready to see an old friend again.

 _(Somewhere in Kalos)_

There was a tall man with red hair in the shape of a lion's mane sitting behind a desk. A man in a red uniform entered the dark chamber where the man with the lion's mane was.

"Sir, we are ready to attack Kalos" the man that entered explained.

"Excellent, let the plan commence," the man in the chair uttered.

 _(Ash and his Friends)_

"Thanks for taking us out for breakfast, Ash," Bonnie said.

"Anytime," Ash said to the her.

"So what are we going to do today?" Serena asked.

"I don't know, maybe train," Ash said.

"You train all day Ash. Why don't you just relax?" Serena asked.

"She is right, Ash," Clemont commented. "After you became the champion, you have been training like crazy. Let's just relax for a bit, then you can train for your battle with Cynthia tomorrow."

"Pika-Pika-Chu" Pikachu told his master.

Ash thought for a minute; he has been training every single day since he has been the Kalos champion. Maybe half a day of relaxation wouldn't be bad for him. He and his Pokémon did deserve it after the performance yesterday; they swept the most powerful trainer in Unova.

"Okay I guess," Ash gave in.

"Yay! Let's go to the beach!" Bonnie suggested.

"That's a great idea! Let's go," Serena said.

The little group started to walk towards the beach. They were ready to relax together with no worries about training—at least for a while.

 _(Paul's Battle Pyramid)_

"Are we there yet?" May whined.

"We still have three hours before we can land," Paul indicated.

"So what can we do for now?" Dawn asked.

May then thought it was time to commence the plan. If both Dawn and Paul weren't going to tell each other how they feel, then she would make them.

"Can you two help me get something from the closet room?" May asked.

Both nodded and started to walk towards May. They then started to walk towards the room. When May motioned for them to come, they walked inside the room, and May took the opportunity to run out of the room and lock the door before Paul and Dawn could react.

"What are you doing May?!" Dawn asked in confusion and frustration.

"May, open the door now!" an angry Paul demanded.

"Not until I hear the password."

"What password? We don't know any password!" Dawn spoke.

"Then I guess you guys are going to stay in this room until someone confesses their feelings for one another," May informed.

It was at this moment that Paul and Dawn stared at each other with confused looks. Neither knew the other one really had feelings for each other. Paul knew he had to do something because he had feeling the brunette wasn't kidding about leaving them inside the room. " _I guess it's now or never,"_ Paul thought. "Hey Dawn, I need to tell you something."

"What is it Paul?" Dawn asked timidly. " _Oh my gosh he is so cute,"_ This was her greatest fantasy yet worst fear: to be locked in a room with her crush. She was extremely nervous.

"Look, I know I can be a difficult person to deal with; not to mention I'm not good with expressing my feelings, so this is kind of hard for me," Paul told the blue-haired girl.

 _"_ _Oh my Arceus, is he saying what I think he is saying?"_ Dawn thought.

"I've liked you Dawn…for a while now," Paul stated softly. "I can't stop my emotions…at least not all of them, so I figured I would just embrace this one feeling."

"Paul…I feel the same way for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah...I think your cute, funny, a good trainer, and you have changed from being cruel to your Pokémon to being really kind hearted which I love about you," Dawn told the Battle Pyramid Master.

"I am pretty great, huh?" Paul stated proudly.

Dawn then went in to peck the 20-year-old on the lips. May was able to hear the little kiss and smiled at her childish, yet brilliant, plan.

"Password accepted," May said opening the door. She was smiling at both of them.

"I am still mad you for locking me in a closet in my own Battle Pyramid," Paul told the brunette. "Kind of childish, too."

"Either way you guys love me," May said walking up to the couple and hugging them.

"Thanks May," Dawn whispered to her.

"Anytime, Dawn," May told her friend. She then walked away leaving the couple. She was walking through the hallway when Brock approached her.

"Did our plan work?" asked Brock.

"Yup," May said smiling to where she left the couple.

"I knew locking them in a closet would work," Brock told her confidently. "And you thought it was childish."

"It was childish; they even said it was a childish plan."

"It doesn't matter; it still worked," Brock didn't care as long as it got results. "It was a good thing to do. I was tired of hearing Paul mumble in his sleep about Dawn. If I had to guess, Dawn was probably doing the same thing, too. They were both probably dreaming of each other."

"Yeah...they probably were," May said looking out the window thinking of a certain trainer in her mind. _"_ _I have been dreaming of you…"_

 _(Kalos with Ash)_

"Well, it looks like I won't be able to train today," the raven-haired trainer said looking at the sky. It was already pretty dark outside.

"At least you got to rest of the entire day Ash," Serena replied.

"We should get back to the hotel, Bonnie," Clemont told his little sister.

"Aw, okay big brother," Bonnie said.

"At least I thought of a few strategies to beat Cynthia tomorrow, so it wasn't a total loss," Ash thought aloud. "I also got to spend the whole day with my awesome friends."

"Well, we got to go. Bye Ash!" Serena told him. She hugged him and the trio left the champion.

The Kalos champion started to walk to his suite with a sleeping rodent in his arms.

 _(Paul's Battle Pyramid)_

"Guys, we're here," Paul told the group.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Misty.

"That's easy Misty, we need to head over to the Pokémon league," Gary informed knowingly. "That is where the battle takes place tomorrow."

"What about the tickets!" Tracey exclaimed. "We don't have any to enter the stadium tomorrow."

"Relax man, I bought the tickets before we left," Paul assured the researchers assistant.

"Well, what are we going to do when we get there?" Max asked.

"It's already late, so we should check into a hotel," May answered her little brother. "Oh, also Paul and Dawn are a couple now."

Dawn and Paul were congratulated by everyone in the Battle Pyramid.

"It's about time you guys got together," Gary said shaking the Pyramid Master's hand.

At that moment the Battle Pyramid started to beep. Paul went to check on what was happening. He then realized they were going to be at landing in a few seconds. They had to check into a hotel because it was getting late.

"Alright guys, we just landed," Paul informed the others.

"I guess we have to check into our hotel now," Max said.

"The girls can sleep in one room with three beds, and the guys can get another room for themselves with two beds," May suggested.

"Guess you and I are on the couches again lover boy," Paul said to the breeder.

"I'm not the only 'lover boy' now," Brock replied with a grin. "Although, I'm still available for all the ladies while you are not. More Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies for me."

"Alright, well let's go to the hotel already," Misty said.

The group started to walk towards the hotel near where the champions would have their battle tomorrow. They checked in and started to make their way to the rooms. They were lucky to get the rooms next to each other, especially a day before the battle. Before they were going to enter the rooms, Dawn decided to speak.

"Remember guys, we need to be up and early for Ash's match tomorrow" the blue-haired girl said.

"Yeah, we'll be up early," Tracey replied.

"Alright, goodnight everyone," May announced. She was excited to see the trainer of her dreams battle again. She was more excited to meet him in person, though.

Everyone went inside their rooms ready for the big day tomorrow.

 _(The next Morning)_

"Paul, where are our seats at?" asked May.

"I think he said they are one more flight of stairs up," Dawn told May. She was holding on to Paul's arm.

"They are right here," Paul informed everyone.

Everyone sat down and waited for the match to begin. The seats are high up in the stadium, but they are good enough to see the entire field.

"Do you guys think we should get some snacks?" Tracey asked the group.

"No!" everyone yelled to Tracey.

"The match is about to start, let's watch!" May exclaimed.

The whole crowd started to cheer when both the Kalos and Sinnoh champion entered the stadium. As always, Ash had Pikachu on his shoulder. The electric mouse had an expression of excitement on its face.

"Are the champions ready?" the referee asked.

He received a nod from both.

"Cynthia, you may send out your first Pokémon," the man in the yellow shirt informed her.

"Ash, I hope you are ready for a good match. Go Roserade!" Cynthia exclaimed throwing a Pokéball in the air. The bouquet Pokémon appeared before them.

"Roserade!" the Pokémon yelled as it came out.

"Roserade, huh? I know who to use; I choose you!" Ash said throwing a Pokéball in the air.

 **Well guys, Mary Christmas from me and my editor. I know I wrote this chapter kind of fast, but I wanted to have it up before Christmas for you guys! I can say, though, that the next chapter will probably be the longest I will ever write, but I will have it up by next week!**

 **I thought for being so patient with the last chapter, you guys should get another chapter just for being awesome! You guys are the greatest! I really am enjoying writing this story for all you guys.**

 **Hope you guys have a Merry Christmas from yours truly, RedHood06!**

 **Read and Review guys enjoy!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Pokémon and none of its characters.**

 **Alright guys I am back with another chapter of this story. I have been enjoying writing this story you guys. You guys are the best because you guys are patient when I update. This was probably the most I have written in a chapter, so that is why it took more than a week for me to update.**

 **Also, did you guys have a good New Years and Christmas? I hope you guys had a wonderful time with all of your families and I want you guys to be happy that you guys have families.**

 **Also I want you guys to read until the very end. I want to discuss the direction this story is heading because I have been getting some reviews and a LOT of private messages about me going too fast in this story. So keep reading till the very end because I want to explain it to you guys.**

 **Thanks guys!**

 **Remember, Read and Review! Enjoy!**

"Bra!" the Johto starter roared.

"So, you think you can beat my Roserade with type advantage, Ash?" the Sinnoh champion asked.

"I don't think—I know I can," Ash replied. "Typhlosion use Flame Wheel!"

"Braa!" Typhlosion said.

The Volcano Pokémon engulfed himself in flames and started spinning towards his target. The fire was so hot it made everything around it disintegrate. But Cynthia was already a step-ahead of her opponent.

"Roserade use Sludge Bomb," Cynthia quickly countered.

The Bouquet Pokémon put its two bouquet-hands together and fired the deadly poison move. It intercepted the Flame Wheel, stopping Typhlosion from progressing any further. Typhlosion then jumped back towards his trainer's side. He knew it was going to be interesting even if he had the advantage over Roserade.

"That was quick thinking, Cynthia, but are you ready for this: Typhlosion use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

Typhlosion then started to form a powerful flame in its mouth. The fire type unleashed its Flamethrower at an enormous size and speed to Roserade. However, the Sinnoh champion already had something to counter all her opponent's fire moves.

"Roserade, jump in the air and use Rain Dance," Cynthia ordered.

"Roserade!" the grass and poison Pokémon said.

Roserade jumped in the air and shot a blue sphere into the air. Rain immediately started to pour onto the battle field. When Roserade looked down, it saw the Flamethrower still coming at a fast pace. The Flamethrower collided directly with Roserade, dropping it down to the battle field.

"I would say your Roserade is down, but I already know it's going to get back up."

"Impressive, Ash; and here I thought you forgot what Rain Dance does to fire-type moves."

At that moment the Bouquet Pokémon stood up. Although the fire move's power was reduced by the Rain Dance, it still caused quite a bit of damage.

 _(With the Group)_

"Why did Roserade get back up?" Dawn asked with a surprise face.

"Well, Rain Dance powers up water-type moves but weakens fire-type moves like Flamethrower," Gary informed the blue-haired girl.

"Shhh! Cynthia is making a move," May said.

 _(Back on The Field)_

"Use Weather Ball!" Cynthia ordered.

Rose-rade!" the grass Pokémon said. She started to form a dark blue sphere between her two bouquet-hands. She fired it swiftly towards her opponent and landed it perfectly on the Volcano Pokémon. Because it was raining, it became a water move which caused some damage to the fire starter.

"Raa!" Typhlosion roared in agony and fell to one knee.

"You know it will take more than a super effective move to finish my Typhlosion," Ash explained.

"I know, but let's see if your Typhlosion can take another one," Cynthia replied. "Roserade use Weather Ball again."

At that moment, Roserade threw its hands in the air and started to form another ball made of water. She then tossed it swiftly again towards Typhlosion. The blue sphere started to get closer to its target until…

"Typhlosion, intercept it with ThunderPunch!" The Kalos champion quickly Volcano Pokémon's arm started to glow yellow with electricity forming around it. Typhlosion then slammed his fist into the water ball.

"Raa!" Typhlosion yelled as it made Roserade's attack evaporate with the electric type move.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," The Sinnoh champion thought out loud.

"Did you like that?" Ash replied with a grin. "I had Typhlosion learn ThunderPunch for water Pokémon and any other opponent that can learn water type moves."

"That is still not going to stop us; Roserade use Sludge Bomb and then fire another Weather Ball!"

"No you don't, Typhlosion quick use Flame Charge to stop the Sludge Bomb and dodge the Weather Ball," Ash commanded. "Then use ThunderPunch!"

 _"_ _Why is he having Typhlosion intercept with Flame Charge? It won't have enough time to dodge nor use ThunderPunch,"_ Cynthia thought.

The poison and grass type jumped in the air and released its most powerful poison type move toward its opponent. She then formed another ball of water and tossed it with so much force she threw herself back in the process. However, Typhlosion already knew what Ash was planning.

"Braaa!" Typhlosion roared and engulfed himself in flames. The Johto starter went towards the Sludge Bomb and cancelled it out with its own move even though his attack was weakened by the Rain Dance. The Weather Ball was extremely close to him when Typhlosion finally jumped, evading the attack. The fire type then went after his opponent with its fist circled around with electricity. It slammed it towards the Bouquet Pokémon causing it to cry out it pain. Typhlosion landed back on the ground to see his opponent falling to the ground.

"Rose-Rade!" the poison and grass Pokémon cried out.

"Roserade!" Cynthia was worried about her Pokémon.

"Quick Typhlosion, use Flame Wheel to finish it!" Ash quickly said.

Typhlosion look towards his falling opponent and started to spin and engulf himself in flames again and rush towards the helpless Roserade and collided with her making her faint with ease.

"Roserade is unable to battle; the winner is Typhlosion!" the referee announced. This caused the crowd to roar with cheer.

"Ash, how was Typhlosion able to knock out Roserade so fast?" Cynthia asked with confusion.

"After Typhlosion used Flame Charge, its speed increased," Ash explained. "Then it was able to dodge Weather Ball easily. Fortunately, after ThunderPunch collided, I saw Rain Dance had disappeared, so I had Typhlosion use a fire move before you can do anything."

Cynthia was astonished! How did she not see Rain Dance end? She knew it was a mental mistake and she wasn't going to make any of those mistakes again. She returned her fainted Pokémon as well as Ash.

 _"_ _I don't understand why I have to keep explaining the outcome of using certain moves to my opponents,"_ Ash thought. _"_ _You'd think as 'league champions' they would know this type of stuff."_

"Spiritomb, battle stance!" Cynthia exclaimed tossing her next Pokémon out.

"Gahh," the ghost and dark type said casually.

"I choose you, Noctowl!" The raven-haired trainer said.

"Prr!" a flying owl came out of the Poké ball. It was a different color from the normal looking Noctowl.

 _(With the Group)_

May sighed in relieve. "It look liked Ash was in trouble for a few moments. Cynthia is not an easy trainer to beat."

"I agree," Brock concurred. "I don't think Ash will be able to beat her as easily as he did Drayden."

May looked on worried that her crush might not win this battle.

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Noctowl, use Brave Bird!"

"Wait for it, Spiritomb," the Sinnoh champion calmly stated.

The colorful bird—surrounded by a blue flame—charged at the spirit Pokémon at incredible speed. To Ash's surprise, it collided directly with Spiritomb; it seemed to have dealt a great amount of damage to the ghost-dark type. He didn't think it would be easy to land a direct attack but he did. Ash knew he needed to continue the assault.

 _"_ _I can't seem to figure out what she is planning."_ Ash thought. _"_ _Maybe she's trying to figure out a strategy while I'm attacking. I have to end this before she can react."_

"Noctowl, use Brave Bird one more time!"

Cynthia smiled at his move. "Wait for it again, Spiritomb."

Noctowl, once again, crashed with its opponent causing Spiritomb to cry out in pain. It was then that Cynthia decided to make her move.

"While Noctowl is flying away, use Recover,"

Ash grunted before he responded. "Quick, before it can complete the move use Aerial Ace!"

The nocturnal Pokémon quickly turned around in the air and charged straight for ghost-dark type. The Sinnoh champion grinned once again.

"Spiritomb, use Dark Pulse!" Cynthia commanded.

Noctowl was too close to dodge the attack and took it head on. The impact caused an explosion and a huge cloud of dust to appear on the field. The crowd was silent.

 _(With the Group)_

"Wow, Cynthia did have a plan!"

"Max, be quiet!" May ordered. "We are supposed to be rooting for Ash."

"I know, but I can still admire her battle strategy," Max replied.

"Guys," Brock interrupted, "the smoke is disappearing."

 _(On the field)_

"Noctowl is unable to battle; the winner is Spiritomb!" the referee exclaimed.

The crowd was in disbelief and awe. They did not enjoy it when their Kalos champion lost a Pokémon. They enjoy a good battle but prefer the "home team" to always win.

Ash seemed confused. "I don't understand how one attack could knock out my Noctowl. I understand it was a super effective move and there was additional damage from the Brave Birds, but the outcome still shouldn't have been a defeat."

"Let me explain, Ash" Cynthia suggested. "My Spiritomb is holding a Rocky Helmet which caused more damage to your Noctowl after every Brave Bird attack. I took a risk, and it paid off," she finished with a grin. Although the Sinnoh champion was happy with the outcome, the Kalos champion was the exact opposite—he was furious.

 _"_ _She beat one of my Pokémon with Rocky Helmet!"_ Ash angrily thought. _"_ _I thought we were champions with dignity. If she needs an item that will cause damage without her having to even call a move to bring down one of my Pokémon, I have lost some respect for her."_ Ash changed his mentality from "having fun" to "let's get this over with."

"Blastoise, let's end this!"

 _(In the VIP box)_

"Uh-oh,"

"I know, Clemont," Serena said. "Ash only says 'let's end this' if and only he really means to end a match quickly."

"Something must have really angered Ash for him to want to end this battle quickly, especially against a champion," Bonnie said aloud.

"It couldn't have been losing Noctowl," Clemont concluded. "It has lost before, and he was okay with it."

"I don't know, Clemont," Serena replied. "There was something odd about Noctowl's loss. It was too quick to lose even with the damage it inflicted on itself with the Brave Birds. We'll have to ask him when the match is over."

Bonnie giggled. "Which won't be long now."

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Blastoise, use Ice Beam!" Ash roared furiously.

"Quick, counter with Dark Pulse" the Sinnoh champion responded

"Bla!" Blastoise said and fired a beam of ice straight to the ghost-dark type.

"Gah!" Spiritomb roared, firing a set of dark rings. Both attacks collided within the middle of the field, but after a few seconds, the Ice Beam easily overpowered the Dark Pulse and hit Spiritomb straight on. The Sinnoh Pokémon cried in agony before quickly freezing in complete ice.

"How did Spiritomb's Dark Pulse get easily overpowered?" asked a confused Sinnoh champion.

"Use Hydro Cannon before it can thaw off!" the Kalos champion quickly said. Blastoise readied his cannons on his back and fired two balls of water that combined to become a large sphere. The attack was so fast that Cynthia didn't have time to counter the move. She could only watch as her poor Pokémon was still and wait to be defeated. The large sphere broke through the ice and slammed into Spiritomb causing it to faint instantly.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle; the winner is Blastoise!" the referee exclaimed raising a flag. This got the whole crowd to roar and cheer. They were happy that their champion was ahead in the match again.

"Wow, that happen so fast I couldn't even think of a way to counter," Cynthia said in disbelief. "I can't believe that Spiritomb went out in one shot."

Both trainers returned their Pokémon; the Kalos champion was quiet in the process. He was still angry that Cynthia defeated Noctowl in the manner of using an item. He could feel Pikachu's sparks on his shoulder—both were disappointed in the Sinnoh champion's tactics. Pikachu wanted to battle badly now after the incident of the previous match, but he knew he wasn't going to be used in this battle.

 _(With the Group)_

"Why doesn't it look like Ash is having fun anymore?" questioned Max.

"I noticed it, too," Paul responded.

"Max is right," Dawn entered the conversation. "What has gotten into Ash? He's really quiet about something."

"I wonder if it has to do with Noctowl being defeated." Brock said to no one in particular.

"Guys, I'm worried about Ash," May exclaimed. "I feel like this battle isn't going to last that long anymore."

"Quiet, they are about to send out their next Pokémon," Gary said, interrupting their conversation.

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Milotic, battle stance!" the Sinnoh champion said tossing the Poké ball to release the beautiful serpent.

"Pah!" the beautiful Pokémon appeared in front of Cynthia.

"Venusaur, let's ends this!" the Kalos champion called out.

"VENU!" the Kanto starter roared. He can sense Ash's determination to win, and Venusaur was not one disappoint his trainer.

"Venusaur, use Sunny Day," Ash commanded.

"Saur" Venusaur said as it shot out a beam of light into the sky, making the Sun shine extremely bright.

"Ice Beam, Milotic!" The Sinnoh Champion exclaimed.

"Counter with Solarbeam!" The Kalos Champion quickly said.

Milotic threw her head back and fired a beam of ice straight to the grass and poison type Pokémon. The ice was glistering in the sunlight.

"SAUR!" Venusaur said firing the Solarbeam without charging up. The white beam went straight towards the Ice Beam and easily overpowered the ice type move, continuing straight for Milotic. The beautiful sea serpent took the attack and was sent flying back. Milotic crashed harshly against the wall behind her trainer. She, however, quickly got back up as if the Solarbeam caused no significant damage. Milotic slithered back to field waiting for her trainer's next order.

"Wow, he beat Milotic's Ice Beam with a grass type move," Cynthia thought out loud. "Milotic, use Twister followed by Dragon Pulse!"

"Pah!" Milotic roared, twisting her tail to make a twister towards the grass and poison type. She then fired a blue sphere and mixed it with the Twister forming a blue sphere at the tip of the tornado.

The whole crowd gasped. They never heard of a combination move in a battle before. They saw combination moves in contest but never in a battle—especially in a battle between champions. They wondered how their champion would counter such a move.

"Use Petal Blizzard," Ash said calmly.

"VENUSAUR!" the Kanto starter roared as it started to wiggle his flower on his back. Pink petals started to surround him and with one mighty push, he sent the petals flying towards the combination attack. Both attacks met in the middle of the field. They were pushing back and forth before causing an explosion. Through the dust cloud, Milotic's combination attack emerged unscathed. It was able to overpower the grass move, continuing its course to Venusaur. A small grin appeared on the Sinnoh champion's face. She knew this attack was going to end this battle. She didn't, however, see the same grin on Ash's face.

"Venusuar, intercept it!" Ash said with a smirked.

"VENU!" Venusaur lifted his front body and slammed it on the combination attack. Venusaur was able to take the attack like it was nothing but wind touching it.

"What? How?" Cynthia asked.

Ash just smirked.

 _(With the Group)_

"How come Venusaur didn't go down on that attack?" Max asked.

"I don't know." Misty said.

"Me neither." May also stated.

"I can't really see the battle," Tracey informed.

"If I'm correct, I think that move Ash used before weaken the combination move. Venusaur was then able to take the attack." Gary explained.

"Brock had just finish telling me that too," Paul said.

"Shh! Ash is about to use another move," Dawn announced.

 _(Back on The Field)_

"Venusaur, use Solarbeam followed by Frenzy Plant!" Ash said trying to finish the battle already.

"VENUSAUR!" Venusaur roared.

"I can't let those attacks land on Milotic, or she will go down for sure," Cynthia thought out loud. "Milotic use Dragon Pulse then use Ice Beam!"

"Paah!" Milotic said as she threw her head back to use her attacks.

Venusaur fired a white beam towards his opponent, but Milotic already had fired a Dragon Pulse towards Venusaur. As both of the attacks collided, it was obvious that Solarbeam was going to win, so Cynthia knew she had to act fast.

"Now quickly use Ice Beam!" Cynthia said trying to save her Milotic. Milotic threw her head back once again and fired a beam of ice towards the white beam that had already defeated her Dragon Pulse. The Ice Beam intercepted the Solarbeam and cancelled them both out. Cynthia grinned; she knew she had saved her Milotic, but her eyes widened at what she saw next. Big thorn vines came straight from the ground and headed towards her beautiful Pokémon. She knew Milotic wouldn't be able to react in time. The big thorn vines hit Milotic one by one. Cynthia watched in horror as her Pokémon screamed in pain and fell towards the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Milotic is unable to battle; the winner is Venusaur!" the referee announced. The whole crowd went wild for the victory of their champion's Pokémon.

"I completely forgot about Frenzy Plant. But I was worried about the Solarbeam that was able to withstand both of Milotic's attacks." Cynthia explained. She returned her fainted Pokémon and pulled out another Poké ball.

Ash just nodded. He really wanted to end this battle already. He also returned his Kanto starter and pulled out another Poké ball.

"Ash, you have the honor of sending out your Pokémon first," Cynthia informed her fellow champion.

"Ladies first," Ash replied.

"Such a gentleman," Cynthia stated. "Don't say I didn't let you go first. Go Glaceon!" A blue fox like-Pokémon appeared from the Poké ball.

"Go Hawlucha!" Ash announced throwing a Poké ball in the air. A colorful green, red bird appeared on the field. It seemed to have the impression of a wrestler.

"Lucha!" the fighting and flying Pokémon exclaimed getting in a fighting stance.

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!" Cynthia said.

"Use Fire Punch to intercept the Ice Beam!" Ash exclaimed.

Glaceon fired a beam of ice towards the fighting and flying type, but Hawlucha already made a fist engulfed in flames. Hawlucha threw his fist at the Ice Beam, causing it to defrost on impact.

"Now use High Jump Kick!" Hawlucha's trainer commanded.

"Glaceon, dodge and use Water Pulse," Cynthia said calmly.

"Lucha!" Hawlucha exclaimed and jumped in the air.

Glaceon waited patiently for her target to get close. Once Hawlucha got close to her, she jumped in the air and fired a Water Pulse straight to his back.

"Hawlucha!" Hawlucha cried in pain. He didn't care that he was hit by a Water Pulse; he hardly felt it. He was more concerned that he took a lot of damage on his leg for missing the High Jump Kick.

"Glaceon, quick use Ice Shard!" Cynthia quickly said. Glaceon wasted no time and fired a shard of ice and hit Hawlucha in the head. The ice type seemed as though it was winning the match. However, the only thing it manage to do was make Hawlucha angry.

"Hawlucha, Flying Press!" Ash exclaimed. Hawlucha jumped in the air and twisted his body, heading towards the blue fox. Hawlucha landed the attack on Glaceon's head, causing the ice type to cry out in pain. Glaceon collapsed on the ground softly with swirled eyes.

"Glaceon is unable to battle; the winner is Hawlucha!" the referee announced. "The Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia, is down to her last Pokémon."

"I should have known that move would put Glaceon down," Cynthia thought out loud. "Her defense needs a little work."

Both trainers returned their Pokémon. Ash was the first to throw out his sixth Pokémon on to the field followed by Cynthia's sixth Pokémon.

"Sceptile!" the grass Hoenn roared.

"Garchomp!" the pseudo legendary roared.

"Now, Mega evolve!" Both champions yelled as they pressed their mega rings.

Garchomp started to change form. He grew more in height, and his arm-blades became sharper and longer. His face also became skinny but sharp. His body grew spikes as did his legs.

Sceptile grew a leaf on his chest and grew more yellow spheres on his back. His blades on his wrist grew bigger, and his tail grew more leafs that were sharp—they look like needles on his tail. He also grew taller—perhaps a little more than Garchomp. Without any respect for the ground-dragon type, he turned his back towards his opponent.

"Use Dragon Pulse." Cynthia stated calmly.

"Slap it away with Leaf Blade," Ash countered.

"Gar!" Garchomp roared and fired a blue energy sphere towards the grass and now dragon type.

Sceptile's arm grew amazingly long, sharp, and green. When the Dragon Pulse was mere inches away from the gecko's face, it suddenly changed direction and crashed against the stadium wall. Sceptile turned its head—as it still had its back toward Mega Garchomp—with a look of disappointment. The Hoenn starter thought it would be a challenge. Instead he got a dog, "all bark and no bite."

 _(With the Group)_

"What happened?" Tracy asked. "I blinked."

Paul looked angrily to his companion. "Would you at least try to pay attention to the battle."

May, Max, and Dawn had similar reactions like Tracy, but Dawn was the only one to speak up. "But Paul," she said, "I didn't see what happened either."

Paul sighed. _"_ _I still don't know why I'm here."_

Brock decided to explain. "It seems that Sceptile redirected the Dragon Pulse by hitting it with Leaf Blade," he continued. "Sceptile is just fast that it was difficult to see it. I'm not even sure I saw it; I'm really just guessing."

"It doesn't matter what or how it happened," Paul chuckled. "This just proves the match is over. Ash will win this in the next few turns."

"I hope your right, Paul," May said somewhat worried.

"I know I'm right, May."

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Sceptile, use Dragon Pulse." Ash said calmly.

"No you don't, Garchomp use Dragon Pulse again to intercept it!" Cynthia exclaimed.

"Sceptile!" the mega starter roared. He threw his head back and fired a Dragon Pulse towards Garchomp.

"Garchomp!" the Sinnoh pseudo legendary Pokémon roared, firing a similar yet smaller Dragon Pulse. Both of the Dragon moves met in the middle of the battle field. On impact both of the attacks cancelled out each other. Cynthia knew this was her chance to attack.

"Garchomp, use Earthquake followed by Giga Impact!"

Garchomp quickly stomped its feet hard on the ground causing the ground move. Sceptile didn't feel much damage from the earthquake, but the gecko did, however, lose his balance. Garchomp quickly rose to the air and started to form a purple aura around him; Cynthia's strongest Pokémon headed towards Sceptile, looking to end it with its next move.

Ash already had a strategy to counter Giga Impact. "Sceptile weaken the Giga Impact with Bullet Seed." Sceptile was able to recollect himself and fired little yellow bullets from his mouth. The Bullet Seed came out fast, hitting an incoming Garchomp still in the air. When Giga Impact finally collided with Sceptile, the grass-dragon type shook off the little pain the moved caused. He saw Garchomp immobilized after the attack and quickly took advantage by firing another Bullet Seed towards the Sinnoh Pokémon. Garchomp winced but withstood the pain. The land shark Pokémon quickly went back to his trainer's side waiting for orders.

"Wow Ash, Sceptile took Garchomp's most powerful attack." The Sinnoh champion acknowledge.

Ash just nodded.

"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade," Ash said.

"Intercept it!" Cynthia countered.

Sceptile charged forward towards the pseudo Pokémon with his large green blades grew; he quickly sidestepped Garchomp's attempt to block him. With an easy opening to his opponent's back, Sceptile slashed it twice, causing Garchomp to cry out in pain.

"Why didn't you move, my friend!" Cynthia said worried about her partner.

"My Sceptile is just too fast," Ash explained.

"Well, we're going to have to end this fast," Cynthia said. "Garchomp, use Draco Meteor then follow up with Dragon Pulse!"

"Actually, we have to end this. Sceptile, use Leaf Storm on the Draco Meteor then use Leaf Blade to end this!"

"Gar/Tile!" both mega Pokémon roared and charged up their attacks.

Garchomp fired an orange energy ball into the air. It soon exploded into little meteors that started to head towards the field in every direction. Sceptile lifted his arms and fired Leaf Storm to the incoming meteors. The Leaf Storm destroyed all but four meteors took—these were headed straight for Sceptile. The gecko then saw a Dragon Pulse head towards him. Sceptile just stood still as the four meteors and Dragon Pulse landed on him. The impact caused a huge explosion on the field. Nobody could see the outcome because of so much smoke. Nevertheless, the Sinnoh champion decided to speak up.

"I might have over done it right there," Cynthia stated. "I'm sorry, Ash."

Sceptile came out the smoke charging towards his opponent and slashed him with a Leaf Blade.

"Garchomp!" Cynthia exclaimed worried.

"Gar!" Garchomp screamed in pain. Garchomp looked at his opponent with a smile; he knew his opponent landed a good shot. Garchomp's eyes went into swirls as he collapsed on the field.

"Garchomp is unable to battle; the winner is Secptile!" the referee announced. "The Sinnoh champion, Cynthia, has run out of Pokémon. This means the winner of this match is the Kalos champion, Ash Ketchum!"

The crowd went wild for their champion. They starting chanting Ash's name throughout the stadium out of glee.

 _(In the VIP box)_

"Told you this battle was going to end fast," Bonnie said casually.

"The minute Blastoise won I knew it was over." Serena replied.

"I don't think it matters," Clemont interjected. "Ash said we were going to have dinner, so we better get ready."

Serena and Bonnie both nodded.

 _(With the Group)_

"That battle didn't last," Max announced.

"Common guys, we have to get Ash's attention," May told to her friends.

When they were close enough to the battlefield, everyone yelled—with the exception of Paul—trying to get Ash's attention. They were all screaming his name, but they couldn't get him to notice them because the crowd was also saying his name.

"Guys, we have to be louder," Dawn said, starting to give advice.

 _(Back on the Field)_

Both trainers returned their Pokémon and started to walk towards each other. Ash heard a very similar voice in the crowd. He turned and looked for a specific person, but he didn't recognize anyone in the stands. He only saw the audience cheering his name, so he just kept walking. He went up to Cynthia and shook her hand.

"Thanks for a great battle, Cynthia." Ash said with a smile. He was not as angry about the item now that the battle was over. Ash knew that his friendship between him and Cynthia was more important than a battle tactic.

"Thank you too, Ash." Cynthia said as she smiled towards the Kalos champion who was now taller than her—and handsome looking. She blushed from the thought she had. Cynthia had to admit that Ash had matured in way she really liked.

"Are you okay, Cynthia?" Ash asked concernedly. "You're looking a little red there," pointing to her cheeks.

Cynthia quickly recollected herself. "Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway Ash, I would love to stay, but my attention is really needed back in Sinnoh, so I really need to leave."

With that Cynthia hugged her fellow champion and friend then she walked away from the field. Ash just began to walk towards the VIP box where his friends were at.

 _(With the Group)_

"How are we going to see Ash know?" Misty asked.

"Well, I know they should have a Champion's suite somewhere here." Paul explained

"Let's go find it." May simply stated. "I bet Ash would like to relax a suite after the battle he just had."

After hours of walking, they finally stop and asked for directions. The man who they asked pointed in the opposite direction where they were going. All of them blamed Tracy because it was his idea to head right after exiting the stadium.

"Right is always right," Tracy argued.

"And I told you that's a stupid idea to go by," Paul said angrily with his hands in his pockets. Dawn was holding onto his arm and walking beside him.

"Come on Paul, don't be like that." Dawn told her boyfriend.

"Yeah, there's no need to blame Tracy," Gary said.

"Yeah, it's all May's fault." Max said in a mocking manner. This earned him a slap on the head from his older sister who, by the way, is still taller than him.

"Wow Max, you really do like to tease her a lot, huh?" Misty asked.

"Sometimes…"

"So…are we close?" Tracey asked.

"Tracey, it's right in front of us." Brock replied.

Two big security guards were blocking the door; they made Lt. Surge seem small. They were wearing black sunglasses and black suits.

"…Umm excuse me, but we are here to see Ash," May nervously said walking towards the door.

She was quickly stopped by one of the security guards.

"Champion Ash doesn't like it when fans bother him without his approval," The security guard stated.

"We are not fans!" Dawn exclaimed. "We are his friends!"

"Yeah!" everyone except Paul and Brock who were in the back of the group. Paul was tough, not stupid. He knew two men as strong as they were could not be messed.

"I don't care who you guys are," one security guard informed. "You can't see him."

"Then how can we see him?!" May asked frustrated.

One guard sighed and the group's attempt. He replied sarcastically. "You guys need to collect badges and beat the elite four."

"We are not about to do that." Misty told May, who was on the verge of tears.

"What if I challenge him?" Paul asked coming up to the guard.

"You're the Battle Pyramid King right? What is your name…Jamie or something like that?"

"It's Paul," Paul replied getting frustrated. They weren't even close to his name.

"There is a rule that will allow you to battle champion Ash," The other guard continued, "but you still have to battle and beat each of the elite four from the Kalos Region."

"Sounds fair enough," Gary thought out loud. "Think you can handle it, Paul?"

"Yeah, I'm the Battle Pyramid King." Paul replied cocky.

"But I want to battle them." Max whined.

"Shut up Max, the grown-ups are talking." Paul told the young, small trainer.

Max just put his head down. After another conversation, they decided they needed to get something to eat. They decided to head towards the plaza where all the food courts where at.

"Let's get some Hamburgers and Corndogs." Paul told his girlfriend.

"Ok, what are you guys going to get?" Dawn asked.

"Probably get the same thing as you guys." May spoke for the rest of the group who nodded.

"I haven't had a burger in a while." Tracey announced to no one in particular.

"Well, let's go buy the food then." Brock said.

They were walking to the food courts when heard a large explosion a few meters ahead of them. Because they were headed in that direction, the group decided to run towards the big explosion to see if anyone needed help. When they arrived, they saw people in red uniforms destroying the food courts.

"What are you guys doing?!" May asked angrily.

"Scram kids, before you get hurt" one of the red uniform man said. He was with another man and two women.

"Stop, you're hurting a lot of people!" Brock yelled at them. He saw people on the ground crying because of injuries from the blasting.

"You guys should just leave before you guys get hurt." One of the women exclaimed, getting frustrated about the group.

"Unless you guys want to get hurt, too," The other woman added while pulling out a Poké ball.

"If you don't already notice, you are clearly outnumbered," Paul spat at them.

"Well if you don't know, your clearly outmatched." The second guy who was keeping quiet in the back stated.

'Ooh, that was a good comeback," Tracey said.

"Tracey, not now!" Gary told his friend.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you'll get!" May said pulling out her Poké ball.

"Yeah," The rest of the gang said following May's action.

"You kids just messed with the wrong people," one of the women said she then tossed her Poké ball in the air. "You just picked a fight with Team Flare!"

"Swalot!" the purple sludge Pokémon said as it came out.

"Don't say we didn't warn you," the male Team Flare grunt said. "Go, Scolipede!"

The big Centipede appeared in front of the gang making a serious and also intimidating face towards its foes.

"Go, Crobat!" the second male Team Flare grunt said while tossing a Pokémon in the air.

"Heatmor, come out destroy!" the second female Team Flare grunt exclaimed.

"You don't scare us," May hesitantly said. She turned her friends getting ready to battle. "Guys, we need to split up. These 'Team Flare' people have strong Pokémon, and I don't think our Pokémon can handle them all at once.

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways. Max and Tracey went one way and were followed by the female grunt with Swalot; Paul and Brock went in the opposite direction of the food courts and were followed by the male grunt with Scolipede; May and Dawn stayed to battle the other female grunt with Heatmor; then finally, Gary and Misty were challenging the grunt with Crobat.

"Are you ready?" May asked a little scared.

"Nope." Dawn said tossing her Poké ball.

"Me neither."

 _(With Ash and his Friends)_

"That was great a dinner. Thanks Serena."

"No problem, it was about time you let me pay for a meal," she said smiling.

"Thank you, Serena from me and Bonnie," Clemont said holding his sister who fell asleep after eating.

"Pika!" Pikachu climbed up Serena's shoulder and rubbed his cheek with hers.

"Your welcome, Pikachu." Serena replied after giggling to Pikachu's stunt. There cute moment ended when a man came in looking for the Champion of Kalos. He quickly saw Ash and ran towards him. He was breathing heavily; it seemed as though as he had been running.

Ash was startled when the man reached his table, but he still acted like a champion would. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Master Ash, Team Flare is attacking the Elite Plaza." The man told him between breaths.

"What!?" Ash was shocked. "I have to help; Pikachu on me. You guys need to get somewhere safe."

"But what about you?" Serena asked worried.

"Don't worry about me—Pikachu has my back."

Ash ran out of the restaurant with the yellow rodent on his back. He took out one of his Poké balls, and he then threw it up in the air—a giant red lizard had appeared.

"RAA!" Charizard roared, looking at his trainer with a confused look.

"Charizard, Team Flare is attacking the Plaza," Ash explained. "We need to go stop them before they can cause any more harm or damage they've already done."

Charizard nodded and kneeled down so that Ash and Pikachu climbed on his back. He then took off with great speed.

 _(With Dawn and May)_

"Go, Lopunny!" Dawn called out her faithful Pokémon.

"Go, Glaceon!" May called out her blue fox.

Both Pokémon appeared on the battle field ready to face their opponent.

"Water Pulse!" May exclaimed.

"Ice Beam!" Dawn exclaimed as well.

"Heatmor, Sunny Day," the Team Flare grunt countered. "Follow it up with Flamethrower!"

Glaceon jumped in the air and fired the Water Pulse towards her opponent. Lopunny also fired a beam ice to Heatmor, but both moves were too late. Heatmor shot a strange aura in the sky that made it hot quickly followed by a powerful Flamethrower to counter both attacks. The Water Pulse was weakened by the Sunny Day, but the Flamethrower was powered up by it, so the water move was easily over powered. The Ice Beam stood no chance—defrosting in a matter of seconds. The Flamethrower hit both Glaceon and Lopunny making them both crying in agony.

"Glaceon, are you okay!?" May asked, she was really worried for her Pokémon. She received a nod from her Ice Pokémon.

"Lopunny, how about you?" Dawn asked, even though she knew her Lopunny can take a hit.

"Give up kids," the female grunt told the two girls. "You guys will never win. Heatmor, use Inferno!"

May and Dawn's eyes went wide. They have heard of that attack before and knew their Pokémon wouldn't be able to take the move.

"Quick, double Ice Beam!" Dawn yelled to May.

May nodded and commanded her Glaceon to use Ice Beam with Dawn's Lopunny. Both of the Ice Beams fused together to form one huge beam. Heatmor then made a big fire tornado and pushed it towards the big beam. Heatmor's trainer looked a bit worried that the Ice Beam was going to overpower her move, but she knew Heatmor was more powerful than both of those puny Pokémon. She saw the tornado of fire hit the Ice Beam and both attacks cancelled out. May and Dawn knew they had to attack fast.

"Use Ice Beam on Heatmor's legs!" May said quickly.

"Lopunny, you use Mach Punch!" Dawn commanded.

Glaceon fired the Ice Beam really fast and froze the Fire Pokémon's legs. When Lopunny collided her fist with the Bipedal Pokémon face, she felt stronger.

"That stupid rabbit just learned Power-Up-Punch!" the female grunt greeted her teeth.

"Cool, it looks like Lopunny can get a boost if that attack lands," May whispered to Dawn. "We have to end this fast before she can counter. I'll cause a diversion while you deliver the final blow."

Dawn nodded her head.

"Glaceon, use Ice Shard!" May commanded. The blue fox fired a shard of ice towards Heatmor.

The grunt could only laugh at the attempt. "Use Flamethrower!"

The shard of ice was easily melted by the fire move and went towards Glaceon, but it never reached the ice-type.

"Use Power-Up-Punch!" Dawn exclaimed.

The rabbit threw her fist towards Heatmor and sent it flying; it was clearly knock out. The grunt returned her fainted Pokémon and just smiled.

"What is going on?" May asked angrily. "Why are you smiling? You just lost."

"Oh nothing…but you might have to be worried about your friends." The Team Flare grunt said maintaining her grin.

 _"_ _Max!"_ May thought of her little brother. "We have to go look for Max and the others."

Dawn nodded and motioned both Pokémon to follow them.

 _(With Max and Tracey)_

"Magcargo, use Flamethrower!" Max commanded.

"Scizor, use Bullet Punch!" Tracey also commanded.

Magcargo threw its head back throwing a huge fire that went towards its Swalot. Scizor, however, was already heading towards the poison Pokémon with a claw that was made of iron. The bug-steel type slammed its claw into Swalot, but it only made Swalot laugh until the Flamethrower collided with it.

"Swa!" Swalot screamed in agony.

"Swalot, use Fire Punch on Scizor, then use Gunk Shot on Magcargo! The female grunt said.

Swalot took advantage of Scizor who was still in front of him. His little arm became engulfed in fire and slammed it into Scizor. He then turned around and fired a purple ball at the fire snail which caused Magcargo to scream in pain.

"Tracey, we have to end this fast," Max informed his friend. "Magcargo, use Fire Blast!"

"Magcar!" Magcargo said as it threw its head back firing the powerful fire move. The fire move headed straight towards Swalot, but the female grunt already had a back-up plan to counter.

"Use Sludge Bomb to intercept it!" the Team Flare grunt countered.

"Quick Scizor, get in front of the Sludge Bomb to stop it from intercepting Magcargo's attack," Tracey commanded. "Then get out the way before Fire Blast hits!"

Scizor jumped in front of the Sludge Bomb to. It had no effect on him because it is part steel. He then used his incredible speed to move so the Fire Blast could collide with Swalot. After the impact of the fire move, Swalot went down to the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"We did it, Max!" Tracey exclaimed high fiving his friend.

"Max!" Max heard a familiar voice yell.

He turned to see his sister running towards them with Dawn. He smiled because he knew his sister was just being overprotective.

"Are you okay?" his sister asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, May."

"I hate to ruin the moment," Dawn interrupted, "but the female grunt is laughing just like the other one. We need to find the others."

They all nodded and left the female grunt by herself. They had their Pokémon come with them outside their balls because any danger can lurk near.

 _(With Misty and Gary)_

"Magmortar, use Thunderbolt!" Gary exclaimed.

"Starmie, use Thunderbolt as well!" Misty said trying to end the battle. It had been going on for a while now.

"Crobat, blow it away with Whirlwind," the male grunt countered. "Then use Poison Sting!"

Crobat was really powerful. It blew the two Thunderbolts away from it. It then fired purple stings to both of its opponents.

"Misty, distract him," Gary told the redhead. He turned to his Pokémon. "Magmortar, use Hyper Beam when Crobat is not looking.

Misty nodded towards Gary. "Alright Starmie, use Ice Beam!"

"Dodge it, and use Air Slash!" the grunt countered.

Crobat dodged the Ice Beam and put his wings together to from a ball of air. Magmortar knew this was the moment to attack. He set his cannon arm and fired a dark purple beam towards the bat. Crobat fell quickly to the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Finally," Gary said relieved.

"Yeah, I know," Misty also replied.

"Are you guys all right?!" Dawn yelled running towards the duo.

"Yeah were fine, but we have to find Paul and Brock." Gary said acknowledging the Pokémon docter and Battle Pyramid King were absent.

With that, they took off to look for their friends.

 _(With Paul and Brock)_

"How many hits can that Scolipede handle?!" Paul asked frustrated.

"I don't know Paul," Brock replied. He then thought of plan that could work. "Have Claydol use Hyper Beam, and I'll have my Golem use Hyper Beam too."

Paul nodded. He knew their Pokémon were tired, but he also knew their opponent's Pokémon was worn out as well.

"Claydol, use Hyper Beam!" Paul commanded.

"You too, Golem!" Brock followed up.

"Scolipede, counter with your Hyper Beam!" the male grunt yelled.

All three Pokémon fired a dark purple beam at the same time. At first, Scolipede was winning the beam battle. After a couple of seconds, though, Golem and Claydol were able to overpower it and cause it to faint. Overall, it was a competitive battle.

"I'm tired…" Brock said to his friend.

"Me too, man." Paul replied.

"You're okay!"

Paul turned to see Dawn running to him. She quickly wrapped him in an intense hug. The rest of the group gathered around Paul and Dawn waiting to discuss their recent experiences with this "Team Flare."

"Yeah, how about you?" Paul asked a little concern.

Before Dawn could answer, all of the young heroes' Pokémon were attacked by three different Night Slashes. Everybody turned around to see where the unexpected assault came from. They finally spotted three other Pokémon in the distance.

"What's the big idea!" May yelled at the three Pokémon.

It was a Bisharp, Drapion, and Weavile. Three scientists with red uniforms similar to grunts before were behind the Pokémon—they were laughing. One decided to introduced them.

"Hello, I'm Mable," the blue hair girl said. "This is Celosia, and this is Bryony."

She pointed at the purple-hair girl first, who was Celosia; and then pointed at the green-hair girl, who was Bryony.

"I don't care who you guys are," Paul exclaimed. "Leave or else!"

"Or else what," Bryony asked. "Have you seen your Pokémon?"

The gang all turned around to see their Pokémon on the ground fainted. The assault did more damage to the Pokémon than the group thought. Furthermore, they were already tired from their previous battles.

"How could you?!" May and Dawn both yelled with tears.

The gang returned their fainted Pokémon.

"You guys need to leave…or else." Celosia stated, motioning her fellow teammates to ready another attack.

"No, you guys do," Officer Jenny arrived with a squad unit. She turned to May and the others. "All of you need to get out of here. It is going to get dangerous!"

"Not without you, my love!" Brock said with hearts in his eyes.

Misty was already pulling his ear. "Not now, Brock."

"But we want to help!" Dawn told the Officer Jenny.

"No, it is too dangerous. Don't argue with me and get out of here."

At that moment the three scientist decided to attack.

"Weavile, use blizzard!" Mable said.

"Bisharp, use Hyper Beam!" Bryony commanded.

"You use Hyper Beam as well, Drapion!" Celosia also commanded.

Weavile fired a Blizzard so powerful that it freezed Drapion and Bisharp's Hyper Beams—it was like a Hyper Ice Beam heading straight for the gang and Officer Jenny. The attack was about to land when all of a sudden…

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

The red lizard fired a massive flame that destroyed the combination move. The Flamethrower continued to the opposing Pokémon which they quickly dodged.

Ash jumped of Charizard's back and landed 10 feet away from the gang. His main focus was to secure the Plaza from Team Flare. Ash never looked behind him, so he never noticed his old companions. He decided to started to make commands.

"Officer Jenny, get everyone out of here!" Ash was still looking at Team Flare.

 _(With May and the Gang)_

May's heart was beating fast. She was in shock and awe. Before May could call Ash—or utter anything—she and the rest of the group was being pushed away.

"Let us go!" Max said wanting to help Ash.

May finally snapped out of her trance and realized what was happening. She needed to do something. "Please, I need to talk to Ash!"

"Sorry guys, but Ash doesn't need any distraction from fans right now," Officer Jenny told the gang.

"We are not fans," Brock continued, "we are his friends!"

Officer Jenny was not listening, though, and her unit was able to get them out of the danger zone.

 _(With Ash)_

"You can't beat all of us at the same time, Ash!" Celosia yelled to the champion.

"We'll see…"

At that moment, Weavile charged at Charizard with Night Slash. Charizard easily turned around and smacked it with its tail—Weavile fainted immediately. Drapion then decided to rush at Charizard with Poison Fang, but Charizard flew up in the air and used Flamethrower on the dark-poison type. It wasn't super effective, but it caused plenty of damage and made Drapion go down with swirls in its eyes. Bisharp tried to surprise the orange lizard by using Hyper Beam when it wasn't looking, but Charizard quickly turned its head and overpowered it with Flamethrower—Bisharp was out. Ash returned his Pokémon after its victory.

"What?" Bryony said in fear.

"How?" Mable also intimidated.

Celosia couldn't even speak. She just stood still frozen and scared.

"Get out of here before anything else happens." Ash stated coldly.

"Or what!?"

"Lysandre…." Ash calmly said. The man had large red hair and was holding a Poké ball

"Why don't we have a battle?" the Leader of Team Flare asked. He tossed the Poké ball in the air and a ferocious Gyarados came out.

It had an item attach to it that Ash identified as a Mega stone. He only looked at Gyarados with a surprised expression. He knew this was going to be a tough battle.

"Pikachu, go!" Ash told the rodent to battle.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed jumping off his master's shoulder.

"Gyarados, Mega evolve!" Lysandre said pressing his key stone.

The Atrocious Pokémon started to take a new form. Its new form had longer whiskers and spikes. It also grew bigger fins on the side of its mouth and back. Gyarados's underbelly also became black with red circles on its body. It made Pikachu look really small, but the yellow rodent wasn't scared.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Lysandre countered.

Gyarados fired a blue sphere towards the yellow rodent, but Pikachu intercepted it with Thunderbolt. The two attacks canceled each other out.

"Wow…I actually thought there was no Pokémon who couldn't match up with Pikachu." Ash said with a grin.

"Use Hydro Pump!" Team Flare's Leader said.

"Counter with Electro Ball!" Ash countered.

Gyarados fired a jet stream of water towards his opponent. Pikachu, however, charged an electric ball from his tail which he threw to the Hydro Pump. The attacks collided and the Electro Ball overpowered the water move. It continued and hit Gyarados making it cry out in pain.

"Pika!" Pikachu said to Gyarados, as if it felt sorry for the Pokémon.

"Use Dark Pulse!" Lysandre yelled.

"Volt Tackle." Ash said calmly.

"Pika-Pika-Pika-Pika-Pi-Ka!" Pikachu said while engulfing itself with electricity running towards his opponent.

Gyarados quickly fired a set of dark rings to Pikachu which caused an explosion and smoke to appear.

"Pika!" Pikachu said a little hurt from the recoiled damage of Volt Tackle.

"You okay, buddy?"

"Pika." Pikachu assured Ash.

When the smoke cleared up, Lysandre and his team were gone.

"They got away," Ash gritted his teeth.

"Pika!"

"Well buddy, let's go. I'm sure Serena and the others are worried.

With those final words, Ash took out Charizard's ball and prepared to go find his friends. Without even knowing his old friends were behind him.

 **I'm done! Finally; it took a while. This was the longest chapter I ever wrote, and I finally did it!**

 **Anyway guys I wanted to talk to you guys about something. I have gotten a couple reviews and a TON of DMs telling me to slow down because this story is going fast. First, I want to say that I was off of school, so I had time to type for you guys. Second, I was trying to get as many chapters in as I can before I went back. Guys, don't think that this story is going to end anytime soon, okay. I have a lot of ideas for this story. I have taken some of your ideas into account and will use some material that I feel will help the story. So with that being said, I want to say that my classes are going to start again, and I won't be able to update as quickly as I have been. BUT I WILL UPDATE THIS MONTH! So don't worry okay guys. :D**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It took me over 20 pages to write this chapter! I think I deserve a couple of good reviews for that don't you think? Just kidding guys; it's all up to you guys.**

 **Remember, read and review guys!**

 **Stay tune guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters.**

 **Well, I am back for another chapter guys. I wrote so much on the last chapter it was crazy, yet awesome! I loved every minute. So, I have been going through a rough time lately, but when I write I feel so much better. It gets rid of stress when I write. I am really sorry for not updating when I said I was. I will explain at the end of the chapter.**

 **Anyway did anyone like the last chapter? Dang, Ash and May almost met! Screw you, Officer Jenny, and your squad unit!**

 **Anyway, enjoy guys!**

Everyone turned their heads to the sky to see Ash fly away on Charizard. The feelings of excitement, nervousness, and happiness were replaced with sorrow. The gang was less than a foot away from Ash five minutes ago, and now he was flying away creating miles in distance between them. The first-responders were around the damaged area trying to control the situation that Team Flare caused. They were putting out fires on a few trees and giving people medical attention. The young heroes were still, not really knowing what to do. May was especially lost in thought looking at the sky.

"Ash…" she whispered lowly.

Dawn decided the brunette needed a little comforting. "May," she said soothingly, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"It's okay, May. We will see Ash very soon; I know it!"

"I know you're right, Dawn, but we were so close right now," May said. "He didn't even notice us."

Dawn wrapped her arm around May. "True, but the situation at the moment was important to him. Besides, at least _we_ got to see him."

"I guess you're right," May stated, still a little gloomy.

Dawn knew a way to get May cheery again. "Did you see how handsome Ash is? I got to say, age did wonders for him."

May blushed. "I hardly noticed it…"

"Well, if you didn't notice, I'm sure every other girl around noticed it and will be glad to let him know," Dawn stated teasingly.

"Dawn!"

Both girls burst into laughter with brighter thoughts.

"Come on, May," Dawn said between giggles, "let's go back with everyone else, so we can get back to the hotel and rest."

 _(With Ash and his three companions)_

Ash met with Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont at his champion suite. He entered the room only to be engulfed in a hug.

"Ash, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, Serena," Ash responded. "There was nothing to worry about."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

Ash sighed. "It appears Team Flare hasn't given up on terrorizing Kalos. I really thought they would've learned their lesson after our last encounter…"

Clemont was about to say something when a flame-haired man opened the door to the suite. He was wearing a green sweater, a pair of blue jeans, and some old trainers; he was carrying an envelope in his arms.

Ash smiled at the man. "Hey, Ed! What brings my schedule manager here at this hour?" It was pretty late. The encounter with Team Flare lasted a lot longer than Ash had thought it would take.

"It appears that there was a problem at the plaza," Ed stated. "You were there; should I be worried?"

"No, it was nothing that I couldn't handle," Ash exclaimed with a smile, brightening up because of Ed's presence. "The plaza is not why you're here, though; I can tell. Is my match with Steven still on for next week?"

"Yes, it is, but it might be pushed back."

"Is it because of the plaza incident?" Clemont asked.

Ed turned to Clemont. "No, that's not the reason. It seems there is a trainer challenging the Elite Four," He then turned to Ash. "You know as well as I do that challengers of the Kalos Region come before your exhibition matches. If he or she beats the entire Elite Four, your first priority becomes facing the him or her.

"I know, Ed," Ash agreed. "Thank you for letting me know about the changes that might occur. If that's it, you can take the rest of the evening off."

The flame-haired man said his goodbyes and left the room.

Clemont decided to speak up. "Well, it's getting late. I think we should head to our own rooms to get some sleep."

"I agree," Serena said. She walked up to Ash and gave him one-last hug. "Goodnight, Ash. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Goodnight, Serena," he then turned to his other friends. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, too!"

A minute later, it was just the Kalos champion and his Pikachu.

"Well buddy, it seems someone is going to challenge the Elite Four."

"Pika!" the mouse exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I know it has been a while since we were challenged by someone from Kalos. It's too bad there is a rule about the champion watching the matches against the Elite Four. It would have been awesome to see what type of Pokémon and strategies the trainer uses in battle."

"Pika Pika Chu," Pikachu explained.

"I guess it would be an unfair advantage for us to see his or her strategies. And I guess it is more fun this way. I just hope we'll be able to face the challenger this time." Ash sighed. "It seems the Elite Four has become really tough to beat nowadays, so we hardly get any challengers—though they were hard to beat when I battled them, it seems like they are really committed to not losing anymore."

"Chu."

"You're right, it does prove they are worthy if they are able to beat the Elite Four," Ash yawned. "I think we need to go to bed too, buddy. We'll think about it more in the morning."

With that, the champion and his best friend were sound asleep.

 _(In the morning with May and her companions)_

They were all eating breakfast in the cafeteria of the hotel when Tracey decided to speak up.

"Are you ready for your match today, Paul?"

"Don't you ever get tired of asking stupid questions, Tracey?" Paul asked.

"But it was an honest question!" Tracey argued. "I get the feeling you don't like me much."

"Nooo, what would make you come to that conclusion, Tracey?" Paul asked full of sarcasm.

"I'm just guessing, and I'm not sure if I believe myself or not, but you treat me badly," Tracey said thoughtfully. "Though, it could just mean we're better friends, right? …Paul, are you listening?"

 _"_ _I'm glad I get to release my frustration out on the battlefield today,"_ Paul thought.

A man walked up to the table where they were eating. He approached the group looking at each of them as if he was looking for someone in particular.

"I was told I could find Paul here," the man said kindly. "Is one of you name Paul?"

"I am," Paul said getting up from his chair.

"My name is Ed," Ed explained. "I am here to tell you that your match is in an hour at the main Kalos League building. As soon as you enter the building, go right into the 'Ironworks Chamber.' There you will face Wikstrom."

"Thank you for the notice, Ed," Paul answered. "I will head there right after I finish eating breakfast."

"Alright, good luck in your battle today, Paul," Ed turned to walk away when someone called him.

"…Um Ed, sir?" May called.

"What's up, miss?" Ed asked politely.

"Will Ash be there?"

"Are you talking about Ash—the Kalos champion?"

May nodded. Everyone was looking at the flame-haired man waiting for an answer. His eyes scattered around suspiciously at each member of the group before he finally responded.

"I'm sorry, but there is a rule about him watching Elite Four battles. The only way you will be able to see the Kalos champion is if he," pointing at Paul, "can beat the Elite Four. Then you will see my friend in his chamber."

May's eyes widened. "Ash is your friend?"

"Yup," Ed stated proudly. "I get to see him every day. He _is_ a nice guy like the media makes him out to be. There's no need to believe that one trainer who goes around saying bad things about Ash. I can personally testify for the champion."

"We're his friends, too!" Misty exclaimed, completely ignoring Ed's last statement.

Ed looked around questioningly. "Really? I've never seen you guys around him before."

"We traveled with him when he was younger," Dawn explained.

"Are you guys telling me the truth?" Ed asked puzzlingly. "Ash doesn't seem to have many friends, so I wouldn't want to tell him that random people said they were old friends of his if they were not."

Everyone nodded eagerly. They knew an opportunity to see Ash again had just arisen.

"Can you tell him that Brock, Misty, Gary, Dawn, Paul, Max, Tracey, and May are here in Kalos looking for him?" May asked pleadingly.

Ed thought for a second before he responded. "Well, I can't tell him about Paul because it's against the rules—even if it is just to tell Ash that Paul is in town, I can't do it. I also doubt I will remember everybody's name by the time I get back to him…I can tell him one name—just tell me which one to remember…?"

"Tell him Tracey is here!" Tracey stated.

"Not now, Tracey!" Gary almost yelled.

"Tell him that May is looking for him," Dawn stated. May blushed at the attention she was receiving from everyone.

Ed made a mental note to remember May's name.

"Alright, if that's everything, I'll be taking my leave then."

With that, Ed walked out of the hotel. Everybody was happy that at least one name would get back to Ash. It is just the matter of how long it will take Ed to deliver the message he was told to give to Ash.

 _(In an hour at the stadium)_

"Good luck!" Dawn yelled from almost two-hundred feet above Paul. The bleachers, for some reason, were not on the same level where Paul had entered. The rest of the group had to take an elevator to get to their seats. When they arrived to the top floor, it looked like they were in the battle chamber. The young heroes were wondering how they would see the match from such a distance.

Dawn was a little worried because she wasn't sure if her boyfriend could handle the Kalos Elite Four. When they first arrived in the Kalos Region, Dawn heard rumors that Kalos was known for the most powerful Elite Four members. She hoped the people were exaggerating because it was their "home" region, but she has never seen the Kalos Elite Four battle before, so she doesn't know what to believe.

"I hope Paul can handle it, otherwise we won't be able to see Ash." Max stated plainly.

"Don't worry buddy, I'm pretty sure Paul can handle them." Brock assured his friend.

"But what if he can't!"

"Don't say that, Max!" May replied. "We need to believe in him. Paul is the strongest out of all of us, and I know he will do just fine."

"Your sister is right," Gary added. "If anyone can do it, it's Paul."

"I have a question, though," Misty said.

"What is it, Misty?" Brock asked his friend.

"Why are the bleachers so high?" Misty asked. "I can't even see Paul from up here. It also looks like we're in the battle arena while Paul is in an empty room."

"I think I have an idea," Tracey replied looking in the air.

Everyone looked at Tracey waiting for him to explain his thoughts, but it never came. The artist just stared down trying to look for Paul from his high seat.

"Well?" Misty asked.

"Well what?" Tracey replied.

"Aren't you going to answer why we are up so high?"

"Oh, no I just said I have an idea."

This made the group shake their heads sideways. They loved their friend, but they started to wonder if he was really "all there" in the head.

 _(On the Field)_

Paul looked around as the sound of his girlfriend's voice rang through his ears. He wondered why he was in a vacant room on the bottom floor while his friends were two-stories higher than he was. Suddenly, the ground under him started to shake, and the circle he was standing on lifted up in the air. The round stone started to go up directly to where Paul's friends were sitting. It was headed towards a circular opening in the ceiling. When it reached its destination, the round stone fit perfect into the opening to which it latched tightly against. Paul glanced to his left to see his friends on the bleachers; now they were all on the same level. All of a sudden, two large swords landed ten feet in front of Paul—one on his left and one on his right. The bleachers then fused with another set of bleachers to create some sort of colosseum, and the two big swords then turned inwards as the lights in the chamber switched on. After Paul's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the lights, he saw a man wearing a knight's armor in front of him.

"How are you, my good Sir?" a mysterious voice said to Paul.

"I'm fine, but who are you?" Paul asked.

"My apologies, my name is Wikstrom." Replied the man in a knight outfit. He was bowing as he introduced himself to Paul.

"Okay, Wikstrom, are you ready?" Paul asked unclipping a Poké ball from his belt.

"Are both trainers ready?" asked the referee on the side of the field.

Both trainers nodded.

"This will be a five on five battle," the referee announced. "Begin!"

"You may have the honor of sending out your first Pokémon, Paul." Wikstrom said to the young trainer.

"I did a little research and it turns out you like Steel Pokémon, so Magmortar, stand by for battle!" Paul stated throwing up his Poké ball. The big Blast-Pokémon appeared ready to fight for his master.

"Ah excellent choice, but I doubt he can beat Probopass!" Wikstrom announced throwing his Poké ball in the air. The big Compass-Pokémon appeared and looked at his opponent with a blank stare.

"Magmortar, use Flamethrower!" Paul commanded.

The Blast-Pokémon picked up his arm and fired a massive flame to his opponent.

"Probopass, use Power Gem then follow up with Discharge." Wikstrom stated calmly.

"Probo!" Probopass exclaimed before he fired his attack.

The Compass-Pokémon threw glowing rocks to intercept the Flamethrower. Probopass used the smoke the two moves caused to send a Discharge to the fire type. It electrified Magmortar's body causing him to kneel down on one knee.

"Ma-Mag," Magmortar repeated, trying to stand.

"Man, I thought for sure Magmortar would be able to sweep through this guy's team," Paul gritted through his teeth. "Magmortar, quick use Sunny Day followed with another Flamethrower!"

"Mag!" Magmortar exclaimed, finally recovering the Discharge.

The Fire-Pokémon raised both his arm cannons. He used one to launch a ball of light to the roof of the chamber which caused the chamber to become intensely humid and hot. After Magmortar knew the Sunny Day was in effect, he fired a massive Flamethrower towards Probopass. Though it was nothing compared to Charizard's Flamethrower, it was still pretty powerful.

"Probopass, defend with Power Gem!" Wikstrom countered.

The Steel and Rock-Pokémon made more rocks glow white and fired them towards the big flame. Although the moves had intercepted it, the Flamethrower easily overpowered it. The strong flame collided directly with its target.

"Pro!" Probopass screamed in agony.

"Probopass, recover yourself and charge with Earth Power!" Wikstrom pleaded.

"No you don't; Magmortar, jump in the air and use Focus Blast!" Paul quickly said.

Before Probopass' attack could land on the Fire type, the Blast-Pokémon had already dodged the move. Magmortar then formed a blue sphere and launched it towards the Steel and Rock type. Probopass knew he was in trouble if that attack would land. When it turned its head, Probopass was hit with the Focus Blast. This caused the Compass-Pokémon to faint.

"Wow, you conquered one of my Pokemon," Wikstrom stated. "Return, my good friend."

A red beam enveloped the Compass Pokémon; Paul also return his Pokémon.

"Probopass is unable to battle, the winner is Magmortar!" the referee stated.

"Wow, I never thought Probopass could be beat," Wikstrom said. "Nevertheless, let us continue—go Steelix!"

" _Didn't he just say that?"_ Paul thought. "Steelix, huh?" he regained his focus on the battle. "Go Machamp!"

First, the large steel-snake appeared on the field. It had a large head and large teeth at the top of its stone body. The fierce expression on Steelix's face made it intimidating to look at.

Steelix was followed by a four-armed Pokémon appeared flexing its muscles. The Fighting type struck a few bodybuilding poses before getting in its battle stance.

"Machamp, use Cross Chop!"

"Counter with Dragonbreath!"

Steelix threw his head back and fired a green mist towards the Fighting-Pokémon. It was too bad Paul was ready for Wikstrom's move.

"Quickly dodge and change it up with Fire Punch!"

Machamp quickly side-stepped the Dragonbreath and began to charge at the Steel type. The Fighting type's fist was completely surrounded by fire when it collided it against Steelix's jaw. The large snake fell on its back with swirls in its eyes. Wikstrom was flabbergasted. How could one of his Pokémon go down in one hit?

"Steelix is unable to battle, the winner is Machamp!" the referee announced.

"Wow and here I thought this was going to be hard." Paul thought out loud.

"Return," both trainers said.

"Go Klefki!" Wikstrom said as he tossed his Poké ball in the air.

A key-chain appeared with many keys attached to its ring.

"What the heck is that? I've never seen a Pokémon like that before," Paul said. "Well, it must be a steel type, so I'll use Magmortar again."

Paul tossed his Poké ball in the air and the Blast-Pokémon appeared again ready to please his master again.

"Klefki, use Dazzling Gleam!" Wikstrom commanded.

"Alright then I'll u—wait, what?" Paul stopped in confusion.

Klefki started to glow and then little bits of that energy went straight towards Magmortar. Magmortar just stayed there awaiting his master's orders but it never came.

"Magmortar!" Magmortar screamed in pain.

"Hey, what move was that, Wikstrom?!" Paul asked in anger.

"Haven't you ever heard of Fairy type?"

"There is a new type of Pokémon?!"

"Of course there is; Fairy is most affective against Dragon, Fighting, and Dark types," Wikstrom explained. "Also, Fairy types are immune to Dragon moves but are weak against Steel and Poison moves."

"Thanks for the tip, but we still won't lose," Paul replied. "Magmortar, use Thunderbolt followed by Flamethrower."

"Counter with Dazzling Gleam."

Klefki started to glow as Magmortar lifted his cannon-arm to fire a Thunderbolt. Klefki then fired the Fairy move towards the thunder move. To Paul's surprise, the Fairy move easily overpowered the Thunderbolt; however, Magmortar suddenly fired a Flamethrower towards the Dazzling Gleam. The Flamethrower easily beat Dazzling Gleam and landed on Klefki.

"Kle!" Klefki screamed in pain.

"Quick, use another Flamethrower to end it," Paul commanded.

Without a second to waste, Magmortar lifted his arm and fired another massive flame to the little Steel and Fairy type. The move was too fast to counter and Klefki was out the second the Flamethrower landed.

"I don't get how my Pokémon are going out quick!" Wikstrom stated in frustration.

"I don't get it either, but the faster I end this match the faster I can get out of here." Paul replied.

"Klefki is unable to battle, the winner is Magmortar!"

 _(On the Bleachers)_

'I can't believe how well Paul is doing!" Max announced.

"Yeah, Paul is doing great out there," May added. "If he keeps this up, we will be able to see Ash in no time!"

"Was anyone else intrigued by the Fairy type he used?" Gary asked. "If he's using something as mysterious like that, there is no telling what he has planned in this battle."

"I actually was Gary," Misty answered. "But the match is about to begin, so let's talk about it after the battle."

 _(On the Field)_

"Well Paul, you are looking to be a formidable opponent," Wikstrom complimented. "Although, my next Pokémon won't go down with such ease—go Aegislash!"

The Sword and Shield-Pokémon appeared in front of Paul—the sword was behind the shield.

"I'm going to stick with Magmortar." Paul simply stated.

"Aegislash, use Sacred Sword!"

The Sword and Shield-Pokémon changed to an attack position and slashed at Magmortar with great speed.

"Mag!" Magmortar cried out in pain.

Magmortar, use Fire Punch!" Paul tried to counter.

"Use King Shield."

Aegislash changed form into a shield and blue aura surrounded the Ghost and Steel type. Magmortar cannon arm engulfed in flames and punch at the shield.

"Mag!" Magmortar said trying to push the shield with his Fire Punch. However, the Fire type was pushed back, not being to break through the defensive move.

"What happened?" Paul asked frustrated.

"King Shield is like protect but even better," Wikstrom explained. "It lowers the Pokémon's attack if a physical move used. Furthermore, it causes Aegislash to go back into its defensive form. When the sword appeared, that was its attack form."

"Then I guess we won't use Fire punch anymore," Paul quickly said. He looked up to notice the Sunny Day had no longer been in effect. "Magmortar use Sunny Day then follow up with Flamethrower."

"Magmor!" the Blast-Pokémon said not wanting to fail his master again. He picked up His arms and fired another ball towards the roof of the chamber.

"Use Shadow Claw to counter," Wikstrom commanded.

The Sword and Shield-Pokémon changed its form again into a sword and charged at the Flamethrower. It was a huge mistake because the Sunny Day made the fire move stronger. Aegislash was fiercely thrown back by the Flamethrower and crashed against the wall.

"Please get up my loyal companion," Wikstrom pleaded. To his luck his Pokémon got back up ready to continue.

"Before it can change, use Thunderbolt!" Paul quickly said.

"Quick, use King Shield."

The Ghost and Steel type changed its form before the thunder move was even performed. The Electric attack was useless against the protection move.

"Dang it," Paul cursed. "Use Fire Blast and go full power!"

"Don't worry Aegislash, as long as you are in this form, nothing can hurt you." Wikstrom assured his Pokémon. "I have informed you, Paul, that it is pointless to attack my Pokémon in this form."

The Steel and Ghost type looked at its trainer a little worried. It took a great amount of damage when the Flamethrower collided with it. Nonetheless, Aegislash trusted its partner and got ready as the powerful Fire move came closer.

Wikstrom eyes widened when he realized something. "I completely forgot Sunny Day—use King Shield!"

It was too late, though, as the Fire Blast engulfed the Sword and Shield-Pokémon. Wikstrom could hear his partner cry out in pain. He finally saw his partner fall with swirls in its eyes.

"Aegislash is unable to battle, the winner is Magmortar." The referee announced.

"You got careless, Wikstrom," Paul stated. "A real trainer wouldn't have let his Pokémon get hurt like that."

"My beloved Aegislash," Wikstrom fell to his knees. Suddenly, Wikstrom arouse with intensity in his eyes. "You will be slain, Paul!"

He returned his Pokémon and sent his final one.

"Siczor!" the Bug and Steel type appeared. It was wearing some kind of armor on its claw.

"Siczor, react!" Wikstrom said as he pressed his key stone on his chest armor.

Siczor started to changed form. It became larger as well as its claws. His claws grew spikes underneath them. His face also had like a black mask on, and his wings also grew large.

"Siczor, attack with Bullet Punch."

The mega Pokémon wasted no time and rushed at the Blast-Pokémon. It punched it with an iron fist which made Magmortar faint in an instant.

"Wait, what?" Paul was still trying to get over the fact that he was now facing a mega Pokémon.

"No one defeats Aegislash and wins this match to tell about it," Wikstrom stated.

"Magmortar is unable to battle, the winner is Mega Siczor." The referee announced.

 _(In the Bleachers)_

"How is Paul going to beat that?" May asked a little worried.

"I don't know," Dawn replied. "He needs to beat that Mega Siczor if we want to have a chance to see Ash."

"Come on Paul—beat him for me!" Tracey yelled across the bleachers.

Dawn stared with narrow eyes at the sketch artist.

 _(Back on the Field)_

"If he says something like that again, I'm going to purposely lose the match just so I can get away from all this." Paul thought out loud to himself. He rubbed his head trying to think of ways to beat this mega Pokémon, but his only thought was to get it tired and plan from there.

"Are you ready to surrender, Paul?" Wikstrom mocked. "You have gained my respect by making it this far, and I will not think anything less of you if give up."

"In your dreams," Paul replied. "Machamp stand by for battle!"

The Four-armed Pokémon appeared ready to please his master. He flexed all four of his arms showing incredible strength.

"Machamp, use Fire Punch!" Paul ordered.

"Siczor, intercept with Bullet Punch!" Wikstrom countered.

Both Pokémon raised their arms and began to exchange blows with each other. Siczor could have won easily with his new strength, but Machamp's move was powered up by the Sunny Day that was still up. The last-two fists collided with each other which caused an explosion to occur between both of the powerful Pokémon. A large dust cloud appeared covering the entire arena.

"Siczor, use X-Scissor!" Wikstrom stated, reacting to the situation.

"Machamp, use Close Combat!" Paul countered.

Machamp searched for his target but could find him. Siczor leaped in the air through the dust cloud and dived towards Machamp with great speed. Machamp readied himself, but Siczor was too fast.

"Siczor!" the mega Pokémon exclaimed as it slashed its opponent.

"Ma!" Machamp yelled in agony and fell. It had swirled in its eyes.

"Machamp is unable to battle, the winner is Siczor!" the referee announced.

"Surrender, Paul," Wikstrom simply stated.

"Never!" Paul replied as he returned his fainted partner. "Houndoom stand by for battle!"

"Raa" the canine Pokémon exclaimed.

"Type advantage will not help you overcome this obstacle," Wikstrom said. "Do you still believe it will?"

"I don't think—I know," Paul said. "Houndoom, use Flamethrower!"

The Fire and Dark type formed a flame in its mouth; however, Wikstrom already had a plan to counter any fire attacks that weren't physical.

"Siczor, attack with Night Slash!"

The mega Pokémon's claw started to glow purplish. He then leaped towards his opponent whom had finished charging the Flamethrower. Houndoom fired his move towards his opponent. Siczor already knew what to do, though. It slashed at the Flamethrower which split it in two and continued towards his opponent.

"Come on Paul, at least make this challenging," Wikstrom mocked. "Siczor, use X-Scissor!"

The Bug and Steel type slashed an X in front of it and charged to Houndoom.

"Counter with Shadow Ball!" Paul tried to counter.

"Ra!" Houndoom roared and fire a dark ball towards the mega Pokémon.

Siczor slashed the Shadow Ball into four pieces and continued towards his target. He slashed at the Dark and Fire type causing it to fly through the stadium. Houndoom hit the wall behind Paul. Although it took excessive amount of damage, it still managed to get back up with what little strength it had left. It limped to the battlefield.

"Dang, if Houndoom goes down there, I don't think my other two Pokémon left in my party can beat this thing," Paul thought out loud. Paul's eyes went wide as he figured out the plan to win. "That's it! I have more Pokémon than he does."

"Siczor, put it out of its misery and use Bullet Punch!" Wikstrom commanded.

"Zor!" the mega Pokémon cried as it leaped towards his opponent.

Just as the mega Pokémon was about to end the round and Paul's hopes of passing through the Elite Four, Paul made his move.

"Houndoom, use Destiny Bond!" Paul quickly said.

"Raa!" Houndoom exclaimed as it glowed as well as Siczor.

Wikstrom's skin went pale. He had to stop Siczor before it could connect its attack. "Stop your attack!" He yelled, but it was too late.

The Mega Siczor struck the Johto Pokémon and made it faint with ease. Siczor then flew back to his master satisfied with its victory when all of a sudden…

"Si-" was all Siczor said as it fell on both knees and fainted.

"Both Pokémon have fainted, but Wikstrom is out of Pokémon, so the winner is Paul!" the referee announced.

Paul sighed in relieve as he returned his fallen comrade. "Thank you."

"Well done, Paul!" Wikstrom said as he returned his fainted Pokémon as well. He then walked up to him and offered him a hand.

"Thank you as well, Wikstrom," Paul replied. "I won't lie, if I didn't do that, then you probably would have swept my team with your Mega Siczor.

"Well my young adversary, it was a great match indeed," Wikstrom said. "But the matches that come will be far greater. I wish you the best of luck," With that, Wikstrom headed out the chamber.

Paul turned around to see his friends walk toward him, but a certain blue-haired girl was running towards him.

"You did it!" Dawn said as she pulled Paul in for a hug.

"Did you expect anything less?" Paul asked as he returned the embrace.

"Thanks Paul…" May said. "Now were a little closer to seeing Ash!"

"Don't worry about it May" Paul replied. "I won't let a few challenges stop us from what we're here to do."

"Paul, that mega Pokémon was beating the heck out of you and your Pokémon." Tracey stated the obvious.

"Thanks for telling me Tracey, I did not even notice." Paul said sarcastically.

"Your welcome bud, that's why I am here." Tracey said not hinting the sarcasm.

"May, I'm hungry." Max told his big sister.

"Yeah me too," Misty also said.

"That goes for me as well," Gary agreed.

"We can find somewhere to eat," May told her friends.

"I saw a restaurant not too far from here," Brock said. "Why don't we go there?"

"Alright cool, my treat," Paul announced. "I'm in a generous mood right now and that never happens to often."

"Alright, let's go!" May stated.

With that, the group walked out the chamber to the restaurant Brock had told them about. They would soon learn that this Elite Four isn't going to be as easy as they thought it would be. Even if they were just rumors from natives in Kalos, they will soon learn the power that Kalos has to offer, and the power Ash had to overcame to become the strongest champion in all the regions.

"I'm not paying for you, though, Tracey."

"Ah, I get the joke, Paul," Tracey said between small laughs. "I know you're kidding, right? … Paul? …Ah come on don't ignore me, Paul!"

 **I'M SO SORRY! I really am sorry guys that this chapter is late, but please understand it's hell over here. With HW and classes being hard, I couldn't find the time to finish this chapter. I deeply apologize for the late chapter…I will make it up to you guys. Thank you for being patient with me. I love you guys for that!**

 **So, I need your help with something. I want to give Paul a little more Pokémon than he has or I could think of. I need you guys to let me know what Pokémon you want him to have. Although, please no legendaries guys, that wouldn't really be Paul's style. But let me know and I'll think about it depending on which one it is. Give me FIVE Pokémon options; it can be from any region except Kalos because he has never been here (which means unfortunately no Mega forms). Remember guys, Pokémon that Paul would use, so they need to be powerful. If you guys want to give him a Pseudo, that is fine as long as you give him only one. Remember, five powerful Pokémon you think he will use. If you don't know what he has already look it up on Google, so you don't pick anything that he already has. I will choose the options from the ones you send me.**

 **Thanks Guys for being really patient with me. I will try to post up a new chapter as soon as I have the time, and I promise it will be very soon.**

 **You guys are the best!**

 **Remember to R &R**

 **See you next time on Dreaming of You!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Pokémon and none of its characters.**

 **I know what you guys are saying. You're late, RedHood! I'm sorry guys. I told you these updates would come slow because of school. I had just started my new classes and it was hell. I really am trying to update on a regular basis but it is hard. Please read till the end so I can explain how come I didn't update.**

 **Did you guys enjoy the last chapter? I did get a couple of messages about Paul's team and I want to thank Muzafarmansoor97 for the Pokémon!**

 **Hope you guys enjoy!**

 _(With Ash and his friends)_

"I hope the trainer can get passed the Elite Four," Ash exclaimed eagerly as he clenched his fist. "I can't wait to face a new opponent."

"Ash, remember the challenger has to beat the _entire_ Elite Four before he or she can challenge you."

"I know Serena, but I just really want to battle someone who isn't a champion," Ash told the Kalos native. "Not that it's getting boring, but I get excited knowing there's a strong trainer out there that's not holding a title."

"You also need to remind yourself who is a part of the Elite Four," Clemont said, entering the conversation. "Remember when you beat them they vowed to become more powerful, so they wouldn't lose anymore battles. No one has been able to win against them since then. The only person who still isn't much of a challenge is Wikstrom—probably depending on whether or not he decides to use his Mega Siczor."

"Wikstrom was the first and easiest one to beat," Bonnie added. "Everyone else was just more powerful than him."

"You know you guys are killing the fun for this upcoming match," Ash joked disappointingly.

"We're sorry, Ash," Serena apologized. "We just don't want you to get excited for nothing. We're just looking out for you."

"Thanks, and I guess you guys have a point," Ash said as he scratched Pikachu's head as the electric mouse slept on the bed.

After several minutes of silence, a flame-haired man walked in the Champion's room where the group was relaxing. He walked towards Ash who was on his be—the rest of the group was resting on the couch.

"Hey Ed!" Ash exclaimed waking up Pikachu in the process.

"Hey everyone, how is it going?" Ed asked.

"We're doing well. We were just talking about the upcoming challenger that I hope is still competing against the Elite Four…?" Ash replied hoping to hear good news.

"It looks as if it might happen," Ed explained. "This person was able to beat Wikstrom without having a problem—that was until Wikstrom used his Mega Siczor."

"Well, I'm not going to underestimate this person," Ash said in determination. "If this trainer can beat one person of _my_ Elite Four, maybe he or she deserves a chance to face me."

"By the way, I have a message for you from your _friends_ that are hanging around with the challenger," Ed said putting emphasis on the word friends. "I am supposed to tell you a name…but I have to tell you, though, I don't exactly remember what the name was."

"My friends?" Ash asked in confusion.

Ed closed his eyes for a moment trying to think of name he promised to tell the Kalos Champion. After a few minutes, Ed opened his eyes. "I remember it was the name of a month…I got it! Her name was April," the assistant stated proudly.

"April?" Ash said in confusion as he scratched his head. He then turned to Pikachu. "Did we ever meet an April in our journey, buddy?"

"Pika?" Pikachu said scratching his head mimicking his trainer.

"I don't know an April and neither does Pikachu," Ash explained before he continued, "and Pikachu remembers everybody we meet on our journey. I'm sorry, Ed, but I think they were just trying to fool you."

"Really?" Ed questioned. "I guess they really were just fans trying to see the Champion of Kalos...well, it's not that important; I'm going to my house—you guys have a nice day."

With that Ed walked out of the Champion's suite.

"We are going to our rooms to freshen up before we head out to lunch," Serena announced. "We won't take too long—I promise!" The Kalos natives said their goodbyes and left him alone with Pikachu.

"Old friend name April…" Ash thought out loud. "Nope, I can't say that name rings a bell. Maybe I'm thinking hard enough to remember…"

"Pika-Pika-Chu-Pikapi." Pikachu explained moving his paws around back and forth.

"You're right, buddy," Ash told his buddy. "It's probably some fan girl trying to get me sign autographs," Ash told his friend. "I don't mind, but I wish they wouldn't lie about being friends with me. It makes it difficult to actually make friends or recognize really close friends. Though as long as I have Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont, I will be all right without knowing an 'April'…okay Pikachu, let's get ready for the day, shall we?"

Ash and Pikachu didn't realize Ed got May's name wrong and would not find out that the old group is here looking for him.

 _(In the Morning with May and her friends)_

"I wonder who I am facing today?" Paul thought out loud.

"I think you're facing an Elite Four member today," Tracey answered. "See Paul, without me you'd be lost."

"Why? Why is he here?!" Paul exclaimed pointing at Tracey.

"Relax Paul, when and where is your next match?" Dawn asked her boyfriend.

"It's at 4:30 p.m. in the Dragonmark Chamber," Paul replied, his anger slowly fading. "I'm guessing my opponent is an expert with Dragon Pokémon. This is going to be a tough match to win—Dragon types are not easy to beat."

"But I know you have good Ice type Pokémon," Max told his older friend. "Not to mention you have the strong Pokémon you caught in Unova."

"Yeah Paul, I know you can win," May reassured. "Besides, we'll be right there to support you in any way we can."

"Yeah, but in the meantime could we get some food?" Gary asked.

"Brock and I are with Gary on that one." Misty said. "It would be nice to eat a good meal before the match later."

They all headed down towards the restaurant outside of the hotel where they had decided they would eat. May was talking to Dawn, not paying attention to where she was walking when May turned around and crashed into someone.

"Ow!" May cried as she fell to the ground. Her eyes were clenched shut as she rubbed her head where she felt the pain.

"Oh my, are you okay?" asked the girl who had crashed into May. She was with two companions.

"Yeah I'm fine…sorry I wasn't watching where I was going." May replied as she gladly took the girl's extended hand.

"No, I'm sorry," the stranger implied. "I wasn't looking either. I hope noth-"

"Oh my Arceus!" Dawn interrupted the girl. "You're Serena the Kalos Queen! I can't believe she's standing right in front of me! I love your work—and you're so beautiful!

Serena smiled with a blush on her face. "Thank you, I appreciate the comments," Serena stated. "It's always nice to meet fans!" After a few seconds of silence, Serena spoke up again. "Well I would like to stay and talk, but I need to leave with my friends. I hope we'll see each other around town. Bye and I'm sorry again for crashing into you!"

With that the girl left with her two friends out of the hotel.

"Kalos Queen?" May asked questioningly to her blue-haired friend.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, May," Dawn explained, "Kalos has something similar to Pokémon Contests; I read about it when we first arrived in the region. The contestants are called Pokémon Performers, and they compete for the title of Kalos Queen. It just so happens that the girl we just met, Serena, is the most famous Kalos Queen ever!"

"Wow…" May quietly said after hearing Dawn's brief explanation. "That's really impressive."

"Anyway, come on we need to get breakfast before we head out to Paul's match," Dawn told her friend. "He already started walking when you crashed into that Serena."

"How come he didn't wait?" May asked a little hurt by Paul's action.

"You know Paul," Dawn stated blatantly. "He may have changed, but he still focuses on battles the same way he's always done. Also, I think he didn't want Tracey to bug him, but that backfired because Tracey ran after him."

"I was going to stop him, but I wanted to see how Paul would react when Tracey reached him." Gary mocked.

With that the group heard a familiar voice yell.

"Ahhh! Why are you following me?!" the group heard Paul scream.

"We better catch up before Paul sends out one of his Pokémon on Tracey," Dawn joked.

The group then ran out of the hotel wanting to catch up with their friends.

 _(The Dragonmark Chamber)_

"Tracey, why do you have to bug Paul so much?" Misty asked the Pokémon watcher.

"I bug Paul?" Tracey asked in a somewhat surprised way. "Misty, I'm pretty sure Paul loves it when I am talking to him."

The gang arrived in the same spot as they were in the Ironworks chamber. The bleachers were high in the chamber and Paul was under them.

 _(With Paul)_

"Here goes nothing," Paul said to himself.

As Paul step on the round podium, a bright light flashed. Paul was then floating with the podium in the air raising it in a similar way in the Ironworks chamber. When Paul was now visible to his friends, the stadium began to change. The wings that were in front of him started to open and a dragon's head could be seen. The head then started to rise, and a dark-haired, old woman wearing a brown dress appeared. She was also wearing dragon fangs on her wrist, neck, shoes, and earrings. Paul then noticed the chimneys in room were starting to smoke.

"Welcome! Welcome! You must be Paul, I presume," The Elite Four member told Paul. "I am Drasna. Are you ready to battle?"

Paul just nodded.

"Battle begin!" the referee implied.

"Go Druddigon!" Drasna announced.

"Druddigon huh, go Weavile!" Paul said.

"You may have the first move Paul."

"First and last—Weavile, use Ice Punch!" Paul commanded.

The Sharp Claw Pokémon made his claw glow blue. It then leaped towards the red-head dragon with incredible force, but the dragon trainer didn't flinch.

"Druddigon, use Dragon Claw on the ground, then follow up with Flamethrower," Drasna countered calmly.

The Cave Pokémon roared and slammed his claws to the ground causing the rocks to fly in front of him. Weavile punched the rock, causing it to freeze. Druddigon then fired a massive flame to the Ice type while it was close to him.

"Wea!" Weavile screamed in agony as it flew back towards Paul.

"Dang! Close range attacks won't work," Paul gritted threw his teeth. "Let's try Ice Beam!"

"Druddigon, use Flamethrower to counter!" Drasna countered.

Both Pokémon charged up their moves. Weavile fired a beam of ice while Druddigon released a massive flame again. Both attacks collided in the middle of the field, but the Flamethrower easily overpowered the Ice Beam and continued towards Weavile.

"Weavile dodge!" Paul commanded before the Flamethrower could reach his Pokémon.

"Druddigon, quick use Focus Blast!" Drasna commanded trying to end the match as soon as possible.

"If that lands, Weavile will be out for sure," Paul said as he ran his hand through his hair. "That's it! Weavile dodge and use Ice Beam on its legs, then follow up with Ice Punch!"

"Drud!" Druddigon said as it threw a blue sphere towards Weavile.

Weavile dodged it swiftly and fired the ice attack towards the legs of its opponent. Weavile then threw its icy claw towards the face of the red-head dragon. It collided with the dragon's face, causing Druddigon to fly two feet in front of his trainer.

"Wow. Impressive Paul, but that won't put down my Druddigon," Drasna said. "Use a full power Hyper Beam!"

"Quick, Weavile jump and use Blizzard!" Paul countered.

Druddigon charged up a purple beam and fired it towards the Dark Pokémon. Weavile quickly jumped in the air and released a powerful cold wind to the red-head dragon. Druddigon flew back towards Drasna—fainted on the ground.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, the winner is Weavile!" the referee announced.

"Return my friend," Drasna said as she returned her dragon. She then pulled out another Poké ball and tossed it in the air. "Go Flygon!"

The ground and dragon type appeared on the field. It didn't say anything it just stared at Weavile.

"Do you still wanna battle?" Paul asked his Pokémon.

"Wea!" Weavile nodded.

"Alright, use Night Slash!" Paul ordered.

Weavile charged towards his opponent with its claws glowing white.

"Flygon, smack it down with your tail and use Flamethrower!" Drasna countered.

Flygon turned and smacked Weavile with its tail when it was close enough, slamming it to the ground. It then unleashed a massive Flamethrower on the grounded Weavile.

"Wea!" Weavile screamed in pain.

When Flygon stopped its attack, everyone could see Weavile with swirls in its eyes.

"Weavile is unable to battle, the winner is Flygon!" the referee announced.

"Weavile, return," Paul said as he returned his fainted Pokémon and pulled another Poké ball. "Beartic, stand by for battle!"

"Bear!" the big white bear Pokémon appeared.

"Shall we continue?" Drasna asked.

"Beartic, use Ice Beam!" Paul commanded.

 _(With May and the Gang)_

"No, Beartic use Hyper Beam!" Tracey yelled to Paul's Pokémon.

"Tracey!" Dawn yelled. "Let Paul battle!"

"Sorry, I thought he could use the advice," Tracey said innocently.

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Flygon, use Dig!" Drasna commanded.

Before the Ice Beam could land on Flygon, the green dragon went underground heading straight for Beartic.

"Grab it…" Paul said.

Beartic just stood there and waited. The field was shaking tremendously from the speed the dragon type was moving underground. When Flygon jumped out from the groundin front of its opponent, Beartic reached out and fiercely grabbed it by the neck. Flygon was struggling to get free, but the ice-bear wasn't letting go.

"Ice Punch, now!" Paul ordered.

"Bear!" Beartic roared as he made his other hand glow blue. He fiercely collided with Flygon's face which sent it flying back towards her trainer with swirls in its eyes.

"That was a little rough don't you think, Paul?" Drasna asked a little scared.

"I'm sorry, there are just times when I get carried away," Paul apologized sincerely. "I promise it won't happen again."

 _(With May and the group)_

"That was a little dark," Misty said with a little fear in her voice. "Guess Paul hasn't fully change yet."

"Give him a break, Misty!" Dawn yelled defending her boyfriend. "He is trying his best!"

"Dawn, calm down," May said to her best friend. "Misty didn't mean it like that."

"You're right," Dawn calmed herself. "I'm sorry Misty; I just hate it when people compare him to his old self."

"It's okay, Dawn," Misty assured. "I'm sorry too; I know Paul has changed from a long time ago. It was wrong for me to say something like that."

The two friends both smiled at each other and continued to watch the battle.

 _(On the Field)_

"Go Dragalge!" Drasna announced as she sent out her poison and dragon type.

"Dra!" Dragalge roared ready to please his master.

"Beartic, return!" Paul said as a red beam took the ice type away.

"Claydol, standby for battle!" Paul said as clay doll Pokémon took the field.

"Dragalge, use Surf!" Drasna ordered.

The Dragon type unleased a tsunami of water that he was on top of and headed towards his opponent. Just as it was about to land, Paul countered.

"Use Charge Beam on the water!" Paul said quickly.

Without any hesitation, Claydol fired an electric beam towards the water which shocked Dragalge and made is cry in agony.

"Dragalge!" Drasna screamed as she worried about her dragon.

Just as the attacked ended Claydol began to glow.

"Good," Paul said. "Claydol's Special Attack just rose. Now use Shadow Ball!"

"Counter with Dragon Pulse!" Drasna countered.

Both Pokémon fired a ball at each other. When the attacks collided both looked even match, but Shadow Ball was able to overpower the Dragon Pulse and attack Dragalge.

"Dragal!" Dragalge screamed in pain.

"Use Psychic to end this!" Paul commanded.

"Clay!" Claydol said as it fired colorful beam to Dragalge which collided.

Everyone could see the swirls in Dragalge's eyes.

"Dragalge is unable to battle; the winner is Claydol!" the referee announced.

"Get some rest my friend." Drasna said as she recalled her Pokémon.

"Just two more to go…" Paul whispered to himself.

"Now Noivern, prepare for battle!" Drasna said as she sent out her dragon Pokémon out.

"I'm starting to hate dragons," Paul muttered. "Claydol, use Charge Beam!"

"Noivern, counter with Flamethrower!" Drasna quickly said. "Then use Dragon Pulse!"

Noivern let out a massive flame towards the Charge Beam. Both moves cancelled each other out. However, a blue sphere headed towards the clay Pokémon and landed a direct hit.

"Clay!" Claydol said as it was sent flying towards its master. It quickly regained itself and stared at its opponent angrily.

"Claydol, use Psychic!" Paul quickly said.

"Noivern, counter it with Boomburst!" Drasna quickly said.

Noivern's ears started to make a loud sound that blocked the Psychic from landing on him. The bat just grinned knowing that the match was going its way.

"Fine, well end this with one shot," Paul angrily said. "Claydol, Hyper Beam!"

"Noivern, use your Hyper Beam as well!" Drasna countered.

Both Pokémon fired a dark purple beam towards each other. The moves skinned each other and continued on to their targets. Both Pokémon widened their eyes as they saw the strong beams heading for them.

"Noi/Clay!" both Pokémon said as the moves landed.

There was an explosion on both sides. A big dust cloud covered the entire field making it difficult to see the ending result of the moves.

When the dusts clouds disappeared both Pokémon had swirls in their eyes.

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle; Drasna is down to her last Pokémon!" the referee announced.

 _(With May and the Gang)_

"Wow, Paul is doing really well," May said. "All he needs is one more Pokémon to beat."

"Come on, Paul!" Dawn yelled to her boyfriend proudly. "You can do it!"

"I just hope Drasna doesn't have anything up her sleeve." Brock stated a little worried.

"What do you mean by that Brock?" May asked.

"I think what Brock is trying to say is he hopes it's not like Wikstrom where they have a mega Pokémon waiting to battle." Gary replied for the Pokémon doctor.

"I hope not," Dawn was getting a little worried. "He got lucky that Houdoom knew Destiny Bond…"

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Beartic, stand by for battle!" Paul said as he unleashed his ice type again.

"Bear!" Beartic roared as entered the field again.

"Altaria, please help me out here!" Drasna said she sent out her final Pokémon.

"Raa" Altaria said as she nodded towards her master. The cotton dragon was wearing a little necklace around her.

"Now, Mega Evolve!" Drasna said as she pressed her keystone.

Altaria started to take another form. It grew more tails and more white clouds around its neck, head, and back. It looked at Paul with a calm, but confident, look. Altaria then stretched its wings as if it was announcing its presence to the people around it.

"Dang it," Paul said grudgingly. "I should've known her Altaria could mega evolve."

 _(With May and the Gang)_

"Way to go Brock you just jinxed him," Tracey spat to the Pokémon doctor.

"I wasn't trying to," Brock nervously stated, trying to defend himself.

"The only thing we can do now is hope that Paul can overcome Mega Altaria," Misty announced.

"Paul needs to win," May said. She knew things were not looking well for Paul, but she needed to have faith. "Otherwise we can't see Ash…"

"May, calm down," Dawn assured her with a warm smile. "Paul is going to win because he is _Paul,_ and he doesn't like losing."

Dawn was confident in her boyfriend's battle abilities. She knew he was going to win because he always overcame difficult challenges.

 _(Back on the field)_

"Beartic, use Ice Beam!" Paul commanded.

Beartic threw his head back and fired a blue beam towards the mega Pokémon. Drasna, however, was already two steps ahead.

"Altaria, use Dragon Pulse," Drasna countered. "Then use Moonblast!"

Paul was astonished that the Dragon Pulse canceled out the Ice Beam. "But Ice types are super effective on dragon moves!" He exclaimed as he saw his Pokémon's move get overpowered by a dragon move. "It must have really powered up after mega evolving."

Just then Altaria raised its beak and wings and created a pink moon. She then fired it towards Beartic at an incredible speed.

"Dodge it, Beartic!" Paul pleaded.

It was no use, though. The attack was too close for Beartic to dodge. It took the Moonblast directly and crashed into the wall behind Paul.

"Bear!" Beartic screamed in agony. The swirls were apparent in its eyes.

"Beartic is unable to battle; the winner is mega Altaria!" the announcer stated.

"Return, Beartic," Paul recalled his fainted Pokémon. "Drapion, stand by for battle," The dark and poison type stood tall and fierce on field ready for battle.

"Drap!" the Ogre Scorp Pokémon roared.

"Wow Paul," Drasna was surprised. "I thought that you didn't know the weakness of fairy types."

"I didn't until Wikstrom explained to me and my friends about fairy types," Paul replied. "Drapion, use Sludge Bomb!"

A wave of toxic sludge was fired towards Mega Altaria, but Drasna didn't seem worried.

"Use Dragon Pulse to destroy it!"

Paul smiled.

Altaria fired a blue sphere towards the Sludge Bomb and destroyed it. Paul knew this was the perfect opportunity.

"Now, use Toxic!"

"Dra!" Drapion said as it fired a nasty toxic aura towards its opponent.

"Raa!" Mega Altaria screamed as the Toxic did its work.

"My poor Pokémon," Drasna said worriedly. She knew she had to end the match quick. "Use Sky Attack!"

Altaria started to glow white and charged towards Drapion.

"Wait for it!" Paul said.

"What is he doing?" Drasna thought out loud.

When Altaria was close, Paul made his move.

"Now, use Venoshock!"

"No! Get out of there, Altaria!" Drasna commanded, but it was too late.

The poison Pokémon grab the mega Pokémon and purple electricity started to surround the cotton bird completely.

"Ra!" Altaria screamed in agony.

"Now that its close, use Moonblast!" Drasna ordered.

"What?!" Paul said in surprise.

The Mega Altaria fired a pink beam towards her opponent. Drapion released its grip on the dragon and took a direct hit from the Moonblast. Drapion fell on its back with swirls in its eyes.

"Drapion is unable to battle; the winner is Altaria," the referee said. "The challenger is down to his last Pokémon."

"How do you keep defeating my Pokémon with just one shot?" Paul asked in frustration.

"Mega Altaria is the most powerful Pokémon I have," Drasna said. "We trained hard after we lost to the current champion right now. From that day on, we vowed that we would give it our best shot every single time. Hence, it won't be easy to get passed us."

"Return, Drapion." Paul said as a red beam took back his fainted Pokémon. "You did your job. Aggron, stand by for battle!"

Agg!" Aggron roared.

"Aggron, use Stone Edge!"

Aggron sent flying white stones towards his opponent.

"That won't stop us," Drasna said. "Counter with Dragon Pulse."

A blue sphere crashed into the white stones and destroyed them with ease. Little did she know it was all a part of Paul's plan.

"Now while its distracted, use Autotomize!" Paul ordered. "Then use Heavy Slam!"

"What?!" Drasna said.

"Aggrrrroonn!" Aggron roared as it glowed sliver. With its new speed, it raced towards Mega Altaria and jumped over his opponent.

"Quick, use Dragon Pulse!" Drasna ordered.

Before Aggron could land on it, Mega Altaria quickly turned and fired a blue sphere to his chest. Aggron winced at the pain but still landed on the dragon.

"Man, Mega Altaria still manage to hurt Aggron—even when dragon attacks don't effect steel types that much." Paul said a little worried he might lose.

When the dust cleared, both Pokémon were staring at each other. Clearly they both had taken a lot of damage. Even though Mega Altaria had taken more damage, it looked like Aggron had come out in a worse condition.

"I'm sorry Paul, but it's time to end this," Drasna said calmly. "Fly in the sky away from Aggron!"

"I can't touch it when it's in the air!" Paul gritted.

"Now, use Heatwave!" Drasna ordered.

Paul's eyes widened. "No!" He said. "If that attack lands on Aggron, it's over!" He stood frozen trying to think of a quick strategy to defend—nothing was forming in his mind.

"Raaaa!" Altaria started to flap its wings and create a hot wind. Drasna smiled knowing the victory was hers.

All of sudden, Mega Altaria was engulfed in purple. It screamed in pain before crashing to the ground with swirls in its eye. It also changed back to its normal form. The Toxic from Drapion had taken the last remaining energy Altaria had before it could release the Heatwave.

"Altaria is unable to battle; Aggron is the winner," the referee yelled. "The winner of this battle is the challenger Paul!"

"Return, my friend." Drasna said as she recalled her Pokémon.

"Thanks, Aggron." Paul quickly said and called him back in his Poké ball.

"That was a good match, Paul." Drasna said smiling. She walked up to the Battle Pyramid king and shook his hand.

"If Altaria would have used Heatwave, you would have won," Paul said. "I barely won thanks to the effects of Toxic."

Just then Paul heard his friends behind him.

"Congrats, Paul!" Dawn said as she pecked him the lips.

"Yeah congrats, Paul!" May said as she hugged him.

"Only two more to go." Brock told Paul as Misty and Gary nodded.

"I wonder who you are going to face next?" Max asked no one in particular.

"The next person you shouldn't take lightly," Drasna interrupted. "The next opponent is one of the most powerful elites of our Elite Four. He vowed he'd never lose again after he lost to the Champion Ash and has not done so yet. No one knows who our last Elite Four member is because no one can beat him."

Everyone was just in shock.

Who is this next opponent Paul was going to face? If this opponent hasn't lost, he must have powerful Pokémon to back it up.

"Excuse me Drasna, but who are these members that are left?" May asked.

"I can't tell you that information," Drasna smiled. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to say."

Everyone just looked puzzled at each other until Gary spoke.

"Can you at least tell us what Pokémon the next elite four member is going to use?" Gary asked.

"Be ready to be _splashed_ ," Drasna said. With that she walked away from the gang.

"The next Elite Four member is using water types," Paul stated.

"Really Paul?" Tracey said. "I thought she meant we were going to have fun tomorrow."

Before Paul could yell at Tracey the gang heard an announcement.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! We would like to announce that our Champion Ash will be battling the Champion of Hoenn, Steven, tomorrow!" the woman said over the speaker. "All matches are canceled tomorrow so we can support our champion in this battle!"

"I guess we're going to see Ash battle again." May simply stated. She was trying to hide her excitement, but it was no use. The more she kept thinking about, the more her faced grew into a smile. May realized she was lost in thought and started to blush madly hoping nobody was paying attention.

"If you guys have the chance to get his attention, get it!" Paul said almost yelling. "I can't take these mega Pokémon beating mine down."

Everyone but Paul shared a laugh. They started walking towards a restaurant nearby.

"Paul are you going to pay for me this time?" Tracey asked. "Paul, are you listening? Paul?"

Paul sighed. " _If I leave in the middle of the night back to Sinnoh, he will never know and I can be happy,"_ He smiled thinking of the lovely thought.

"I knew you were listening, Paul!" Tracey hugged the Pyramid King whom was still smiling to himself.

 _"_ _He will never know."_

 **Okay, I know I'm late. I just finished school and trust me guys—that was hell. I also got a job and have been very busy. I wanted to update, but I had no time. I'm sorry, guys. However, now that I'm done with school I can focus on my job and this!**

 **I won't be taking classes over the summer, so I will update guys! I have decided to dedicate 20 mins to writing everyday okay!**

 **Thanks, and I hope you all are ready for Ash vs Steven!**

 **Remember, Read and Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own Pokémon or the characters.**

 **Hey guys! Did you like the last chapter? Yes, I know it was shorter than the last one, but I just wanted to get an update out for you guys.**

 **Enjoy this chapter guys!**

 **Remember to review!**

"So are you guys ready for Ash's battle tomorrow?" Dawn asked her friends.

The gang decided to go back to the girls' room after they had dinner. It was a very pleasant time spent with friends. They talked about Paul's battle and the possible Pokémon the next Elite Four member might use. The group decided to leave when Tracey began to frustrate Paul because they didn't want to pay for any broken plates that Paul would've thrown at the sketch artist.

"Yeah, I wonder what Pokémon he's going to use," May thought out loud.

"I bet he is going to use Charizard tomorrow!" Max replied.

"Actually, Max, I don't think so," Brock told the young trainer. "Ash has been using different Pokémon every time he battles. It's like he's giving every one of his Pokémon a chance to battle."

"I noticed that, too," Gary added.

"Ash isn't stupid," Paul said getting everyone's attention. "He knows that if he uses the same Pokémon over and over, his opponent will know what to expect. It's a very smart tactic which makes him a very tough challenger to face."

"So Ash might not use Charizard?" Max said with a sad face.

"Sorry buddy, but I highly doubt it," Paul replied.

"Speaking of Charizard," May interrupted. "Did you guys remember what it did?"

"What are you talking about May?" Misty asked.

"You guys don't remember?"

"May, why don't you refresh our memories," Brock said. "It will make it easier to explain what you are talking about."

"Do you guys remember when we were attacked by Team Flare?" May asked.

Everyone nodded. They recalled the horrible event the evil organization did during the little festival in the plaza after Ash's battle.

"Remember that triple move they used on us?" the Hoenn Princess asked.

"Are you talking about that Ice Hyper Beam?" Brock asked. "It was the Ice Beam that fused with the two Hyper Beams."

"I think I know what you're talking about, May," Paul interjected. "It was when Ash saved us from the attack. I had never seen anything like that before. I've seen moves used as a combination, but never have I seen moves fused in that way."

"Yes," May answered them. "But did you see how powerful Charizard was? He overcame the attack with just one Flamethrower; Charizard overpowered three powerful moves and was still able to continue its attack."

"I remember that," Dawn said thoughtfully.

"My whole point is: how powerful do you guys think has Ash become?" May finally stated.

Everyone was lost in thought. They really didn't know how strong Ash has become. However, they all knew he was not the same trainer that made rash decisions in battles. It kind of scared everyone to think if Ash were to ever go dark—even though they knew it would never happen because it was Ash they were talking about—how great a threat he would be.

"Do you guys remember when Pikachu beat Drayden's Dragonite with one attack?" Brock also recalled.

"It's like Ash trained every one of his Pokémon to become powerful," Gary said.

 _"_ _Did he really just say that?"_ Paul thought to himself. _"I'm surrounded by idiots,"_ He sighed before he answered. "Of course Ash trained his Pokémon to become powerful. I'm pretty sure that is the goal of training."

"Yeah what Paul said!" Tracey said backing up his friend.

 _"_ _I can't wait to get away from him,"_ Paul thought as he looked at Tracey.

"Well, I think it's time we go to sleep," May told her friends. "It's already late, and I want to be at the stadium early just in case Ash decides to show up earlier than he is expected to.

"You're right, May," Brock replied.

With that the guys got up and went to their rooms. The girls each took turns going in the bathroom to change into their sleep ware and brush their teeth. After everyone was ready, they all quickly fell asleep with the exception of May.

She lied on her back in her bed and stared the ceiling. Quickly realizing she was not going to fall asleep at the moment, the brunette reached into her bag and took out a pair of earphones. She connected it to her Pokétch to listen to some music hoping it would help her sleep. However, May found herself in deep thought rather than sleeping. She started to think about all her adventures with Ash when they travelled through Hoenn and Kanto.

 _"_ _Why didn't I just tell him how I felt then,"_ May thought. She sighed and took off her ear pieces. She knew it was going to be a long day tomorrow, so she closed her eyes hoping to get some sleep in before tomorrow's events.

 _(The Next Morning)_

"I can't wait to face Steven!" Ash said grinning. "I heard that after beating Wallace for his title back, he trained his Pokémon to be even stronger—especially his Metagross!"

Serena smiled at Ash's excitement. "What Pokémon are you going to use today?" She asked.

"I don't know, yet," He replied. "Steven is a strong trainer, so I'll have to be smart about the Pokémon I choose. This is going to be so fun!"

"I thought you were excited for the new challenger…?" Bonnie asked the Champion.

"Yeah but this is Steven we're talking about," Ash said. "He is said to be more powerful than both Cynthia and Drayden put together. That did, however, was said by the Hoenn civilians."

"Anyways, Ash, we should get going to the stadium," Clemont said.

Ash nodded.

"Let's go, buddy," He told Pikachu who had been on his shoulder the entire time.

"Pika!"

With that the little group walked out of the Champion's suite and made their way towards the stadium. As soon as they got there, Ash went to retrieve the Pokémon he was going to use for the battle.

 _(With May and the Group)_

"May, is it really necessary to wake us up an extra two hours early?" Dawn whined. "We would get on time. It's not like Ash's battle stadium is on the other side of town—it's only a few blocks from the hotel!"

May had already woken up everybody hoping to get to the stadium early. She wanted to get good seats of the battle, or the chance to see Ash before the match even started. May would prefer the latter but as long as she got to Ash she would not complain.

"I figured if we wake up early and get there as soon as possible, we could maybe find Ash!" May defended herself.

"You know I'm usually not one to agree with people, but May has a point," Paul said tiredly. "If we meet up with Ash right now, I won't have to deal with the remaining elites. They _are_ getting stronger, you know. I'm not just using all my Pokémon to make it interesting—I'm barely winning by luck."

"Well, at least you guys didn't have to wake up Misty!" Dawn exclaimed ignoring Paul's remarks.

"There's no point in arguing now, right?" May stated. She turned to the rest of the group. "Hey guys, do you guys want to get something quick to eat before the match?"

The group nodded and made their way to the food court at the stadium. The group ate their food as they searched for their seats.

"I think the match is going to start in a bit," Gary stated as he sat next to Misty.

Everyone was finding their seats until…

"Why are you sitting next to me?!" Paul said frustrated.

"Paul, calm down," Brock tried to calm the Pyramid King. "I'm sure Tracey has to a good reason for sitting next to you."

They all sat down. Brock sat next to Max just in case he needed to explain something to him. May sat next to Dawn who was sitting next to Paul holding his arm.

"Hey Paul," Tracey said getting the trainer's attention. "Why is Dawn holding your arm? Is she okay?"

"Tracey, she is my girlfriend." Paul replied.

"When did you and Dawn get together?!" Tracey asked. "I thought you two were just close friends like us."

 _"_ _When did I say he and I were close friends?_ " Paul thought. _"When did I say we were friends!?"_

 _(On the Battlefield)_

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the announcer said. "Are you ready for this exciting match up?!"

A huge roar erupted from the crowd. They were excited to see the match but even more excited to see the Kalos Champion. The people love Ash and love anything that has to do with him. They felt very fortunate to have Ash as their champion and leader of the Kalos Region.

"In the red corner, we have Steven Stone from Hoenn!" the announcer yelled. The crowd screamed as the champion walked to his corner and waved his hand to them. "And from the green corner, we have _our_ Champion of Kalos, Ash Ketchum!"

The crowd exploded in cheers when they heard Ash's name. He slowly started to walk out onto the battlefield with Pikachu on his shoulders. They both waved to the crowd which caused the audience to cheer even more louder.

"I won't ever get used to this, Pikachu," Ash said as he smiled to his partner.

"Pika pika chu Pikapi" Pikachu replied.

"You're right, buddy," Ash said. "Maybe after this we should take a break until the person who's challenging the Elite Four wins or loses. Right now, though, let's focus on beating Steven!"

Ash shook his head to clear his mind. He knew he needed to focus on his battle, or he would make mistakes that could cost him the match.

"You ready, Ash?" Steven yelled across the field.

"Of course," Ash replied.

"Champions, send out your first Pokémon!" the referee announced.

"Armaldo, await my command!" Steven said as he threw a Poké ball in the air.

"Armaldo!" the bug and rock Pokémon roared.

Armaldo looked straight at Ash waiting to see who he was going to send out. He knew whoever Ash would send out would be a strong opponent.

"Pikachu, you ready to battle?" Ash asked his loyal Pokémon.

"Pika!" the yellow rodent nodded as it jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran onto the field. Pikachu's cheeks were giving out small statics of electricity. He didn't like missing the battle with Cynthia, so he was eager to make up for lost time.

"Are the champions ready?" Steven and Ash nodded. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Rock Blast!" Steven ordered.

Armaldo put his claws to the center of his stomach and started to form large rocks.

"Armal!" Armaldo tossed the large rocks towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash countered.

Before the large rocks reached him, Pikachu quickly dashed away around the battlefield. Armaldo repeatedly threw rocks towards the mouse, but Pikachu just disappeared—continuingly dodging the Rock Blast.

"Now, get close to Armaldo!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu quickly charged forward towards the fossil Pokémon. As he got close, Steven made another command.

"Quick, when Pikachu gets close, use X-Scissor!" Steven countered.

When Pikachu reached the bug and rock Pokémon, Armaldo raised his glowing white-claws and slashed at Pikachu making an "X" symbol. The attack collided with the yellow mouse sending it flying.

"Pika" Pikachu cried in agony. The electric mouse stopped himself from crashing by planting his tail to the ground; Pikachu then smiled. It had been a while since someone got a lucky shot on him. He, as well as Ash, made a mental note not to make the same mistake again.

"Been awhile since someone actually got Pikachu with a direct hit," Ash said. "Actually, it's the first time he's taken a surprise attack like that since we became champions."

"Ash, I figured out your strategy with Pikachu," Steven explained. "If Pikachu attacks from close, his attacks are much more effective. I just need to keep you guys away from us."

 _"_ _It's not true, but I'll just let him believe that,"_ Ash thought. "Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"

"Pika!" the yellow rodent said as it fired an electric ball with great speed towards Armaldo.

"Intercept it with Rock Blast."

"Quick, Pikachu, get close and use Iron Tail."

As Armaldo threw large rocks towards the Electro Ball, Pikachu charged at the bug. The electric mouse's tail turned into metallic metal that shined brightly because of the Sun. When he was close enough, Pikachu jumped in the air and whipped the Iron Tail towards Armaldo's head.

"Use X-Scissor!" Steven tried to counter.

"Armal!" The fossil Pokémon roared as he slashed at the little rodent's tail.

Armaldo's claw and Pikachu's tail clashed trying to push each other back. Pikachu, however, used a little bit more of his power to break through the bug and rock type's attack and bashed the Claw Pokémon on the head with the Iron Tail.

"Mal!" Armaldo cried in agony as it went down on one knee. Pikachu returned back to Ash's side.

"He is out," Ash commented.

To his surprise, the claw Pokémon got up. However, it still looked dazed from the attack.

"Wow, Steven," Ash said in surprise. "That was a direct by Pikachu. I thought it would have been out for sure."

"Well, Ash, I have trained my Pokémon well," Steven said as he smiled at his Pokémon. "I made sure to raise their defense the most."

"We'll see if it can take another attack," Ash was fired up. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt."

"Pika Chuuuu!" Pikachu said as he sent a massive thunder attack towards Armaldo who did not appear to be entirely focused, yet.

"Use Endure!"

"Really?!" Ash thought out loud as he saw the thunder attack make contact with Armaldo.

The Thunderbolt entirely engulfed the fossil Pokémon. As the attack settled down, everyone could see how badly damaged Armaldo was. It was even admitting smoke from its body.

"Arma-ldo," Armaldo said painting from the attack it just took.

"Quick, use Earthquake!" Steven said.

Armaldo jumped with whatever energy it had left and stomped on the ground causing the stadium to shake tremendously.

"Pika," Pikachu said as he tried to keep his balance.

"Use Electro Ball!" Ash retorted.

Pikachu charged up an electric ball and threw it with great force to the bug and rock Pokémon.

"Arma!" Armaldo eyes widened as he saw the attack approaching. Before the attack landed, Armaldo smiled as it knew its opponent found the opening it needed to win the match.

The attack landed a direct hit causing the field to be surrounded in a dust cloud. As the dust cloud disappeared, Armaldo was on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Armaldo is unable to battle; the winner is Pikachu!" the referee announced.

The crowd went wild as they saw their champion win the first round. They started to chant Pikachu's name throughout the stadium. There was no doubt that Pikachu had become one of the people's favorite Pokémon to watch in battle. Why not? It was cute and strong.

"Return, Armaldo," Steven recalled his Pokémon. "Go, Cradily!"

The Hoenn Champion sent out the Barnacle Pokémon.

"Do you still want to battle Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika-Pika-Pikapi?" Pikachu said as he made movements with his hand.

"No, I won't give you six bottles of ketchup if you keep winning," Ash replied rubbing his head.

"Pika!" Pikachu protested.

"Fine, if you win this next match, I'll give you one bottle—that's it!" Ash negotiated.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu squealed happily. He then got into his battle stance.

"Cradily, use Stone Edge!" Steven ordered.

The fossil Pokémon made a fierce look before surrounded itself with small stones. It then shot them towards the little rodent Pokémon who just smiled as the attack came close.

"Use Thunderbolt," Ash stated calmly.

"Pikachuuuuuu!" Pikachu exclaimed as he sent the Thunderbolt towards Cradily.

The stones were easily destroyed by the electricity being admitted by the little mouse. Steven looked surprised; he had never seen an electric move used defensively against a rock move.

"Cradily, now use Seed Bomb!"

"Dily!" Cradily said as it fired a giant seed towards the thunder type.

"Pikachu, slap it away with your tail."

"Pika!" Pikachu said as it slapped the grass move to another direction. Steven made a quick command while Pikachu was busy with the attack.

"Quickly, use Ingrain while Pikachu is distracted!" Steven grinned at that move.

Cradily planted his tentacles into the field as roots started to form in the ground. The roots then attached to the fossil Pokémon as it started to glow green.

"Use Iron Tail, Pikachu!" Ash was taking advantage of the situation.

Pikachu charged forward with his Iron Tail towards the Barnacle Pokémon. He jumped when he was close enough and slammed his tail onto Cradily's head making it cry out in pain.

"Pika!" Pikachu said as he jumped back towards Ash.

"If Cradily didn't get its health back from the Ingrain, it would have been out for sure," Ash stated out loud.

"My mistake to leave you open like that, Cradily," Steven apologized. "I don't make the same mistake twice, though—use Earthquake!"

Cradily slammed its tentacles to the ground and started to make the ground shake. Ash and Pikachu, however, predicted the attack was going to used.

"Jump and use a full power Volt Tackle!" Ash ordered.

"Pikapikapikapikapika," Pikachu started chanting as it charged to Cradily. He was easily dodging the ground that would surprisingly popping up from the floor because of the Earthquake.

Boom! It was the only sound that the audience heard when Pikachu's attack collided with Cradily's midsection. The attack caused an explosion on the field. As the smoke cleared, everyone could see Cradily on the ground with swirls in its eyes, and Pikachu was just standing on the field without appearing to be tired.

"Cradily is unable to battle, the winner is Pikachu!" the referee announced.

The crowd went wild once more for Pikachu's victory. They knew the Kalos Champion had greatly increased his chances of winning this match.

 _(With May and the Group)_

"I can't believe he beat two of Steven's Pokémon with just Pikachu!" Max announced.

"Pikachu sure is powerful…" Gary added.

"Makes me even more happy that I don't have to battle Pikachu at all." Misty said nervously.

"Wow, Paul," Tracey said. "If you have to battle Ash and he uses Pikachu, there is no way you will win."

"I hate you," Paul stated without looking at the Pokémon watcher. "I hate you with a passion."

Dawn let go of Paul's arm to allow him to cross his arms in frustration. She then turned to May who was watching the battle in awe. The blued-haired smiled before speaking.

"So how does it feel to be in _love_ with the most powerful trainer in the world?" Dawn teasingly stated to the brunette.

May blushed a deep shade of red. "Dawn! Do you have to say stuff like that in public?"

"Yes, yes I do," Dawn said. "It makes me laugh to see you so flustered over Ash."

The Hoenn Princess sighed. She knew Dawn was going to tease her all day about this. May then tried to change the subject back to Pikachu.

"What do you think about Pikachu?" May asked. She hoped it would change the subject.

Dawn stop her teasing and looked at the brunette.

"I don't know, May," Dawn said as she looked back at the field to see the trainer bending over to scratch the little mouse's head. "I told you Ash is powerful."

May smiled. _"He's going to be a great dad someday,"_ May blushed at thought she just had. Was she just thinking of Ash having kids, or having kids with Ash?

"Why are you so red, May?" Brock asked. "Are you feeling okay?

"Oh nothing," May quickly replied. "I'm fine; there's nothing to be worried about, Brock."

"Guys they are about to send out their next Pokémon." Dawn said as she grabbed Paul's arm again who stopped fighting with Tracey.

 _(On the Field)_

"Cradily, return," Steven said as he recalled his Pokémon. "Go, Aggron!"

"RAAA!" Aggron roared as it emerged from its ball.

"Pikachu, you did a great job!" The Kalos Champion told Pikachu whom next to him.

"Pika!"

"Aggron, huh?" Ash stated as he pulled out a Poké ball. "Go, Staraptor!"

"Star!" the Predator Pokémon exclaimed as it stared at Aggron fiercely.

 _(May and the Group)_

"Why is Ash using Staraptor?" Max asked confusingly about the choice the Ash made.

"Max, don't you look up to Ash?" Paul asked.

"Of course I do!" Max replied. "He's like a brother to me!"

May blushed nervously trying to ignore the statement her little brother just made.

"What is Paul is trying to say is Ash has always been like that," Brock told the young trainer. "Ash always likes using Pokémon that have a disadvantage to show they can overcome it. I guess that is one thing we know that hasn't change from him."

"You're right, huh?" Max replied.

"Of course I am," Paul stated.

"Of course Paul is," Tracey added to the frontier brain.

"Don't repeat what I say," Paul said.

Tracey nodded. "I won't repeat what you say," He said.

Paul turned and stared with a blank expression at the sketch artist whom was smiling at him.

 _(On the Field)_

"Aggron, use Avalanche!" Steven ordered.

"Ag!" Aggron roared as he summoned ice-covered boulders above its head. The steel type then sent them towards Staraptor who just flying in place.

"Dodge it," Ash countered.

"Raptor!" Staraptor exclaimed as it disappeared causing the attack to miss its target.

"What!" Steven yelled. "Where is Staraptor?"

"Aerial Ace!"

"From where?!" Steven gasped. He saw Staraptor appear behind Aggron and slammed its beak into his Pokémon's back.

"Ron!" the Iron Armor Pokémon cried in pain.

"Don't give up, Aggron; use Autotomize and go for a Head Smash!" Steven said.

Aggron started to glow sliver; it roared while feeling the Autotomize move come into effect. The steel type looked at Staraptor briefly before quickly changing from glowing sliver to blue. With its new speed, Aggron dashed to hit Staraptor with Head Smash.

"Staraptor, use Brave Bird!" Ash countered.

"Star!" Staraptor exclaimed as the bird flew in the air. When it was high enough, the Predator Pokémon engulfed itself in a flame before glowing blow and charging towards Aggron.

Both Pokémon collided and caused an explosion on the field. When the smoke cleared, Steven began to speak.

"That should take care of Staraptor."

He saw Aggron roar as the fierce-looking bird was on the ground. Aggron then walked back to its trainer's side. Steven was about to speak until Ash interrupted him.

"Steven," Ash said getting the Champion's attention. "You should not underestimate my Pokémon just because you landed a good hit. It doesn't mean the battle is over—you're getting overconfident."

"What do you mean, Ash?" Steven smirked. "I have beaten your Staraptor, and I will not lose another Pokémon in this battle."

To the Hoenn Champion's surprise, Staraptor arose from the ground with an angry expression on its face. Steven looked at the bird carefully; it didn't appear to have taken too much damage.

"I would have to guess, Steven," Ash explained. "That Staraptor was just testing Aggron's strength. It has a habit of doing that to its opponents for some reason. And no, I have nothing to do with it. I think it is a pride thing, but I'm not sure."

"Pika…" Pikachu nodded knowingly.

The Hoenn Champion clenched his teeth. "Okay then, end it with Giga Impact!"

"Wait for it to get close," Ash stated calmly

" _What is he doing?"_ Steven thought. " _I can't seem to figure out his battle strategy. It doesn't matter because once the attack lands I will win."_

When Aggron was two feet away from its opponent, Ash ordered an attack.

"Full power Close Combat!"

Saraptor threw his wing to the Iron Armor Pokémon's face before sending a kick to the midsection. The bird increased the speed of its attacks as it repeatedly threw kicks and punches to Aggron.

"Agg!" Aggron cried out in agony.

After a final blow to the face, the steel Pokémon fell on its back with swirls in its eyes.

"Aggron is unable to battle; the winner is Staraptor," The referee announced.

The crowd cheered for another victory for their champion. They were quiet when Staraptor had collapsed on the ground, but they cheered when Ash's Pokémon stood up causing their doubts to disappear.

 _(With May and the Group)_

"Amazing…"

"I know, Max," May told her brother. "Ash keeps surprising me, too…"

"This match isn't going to last much longer," Paul interjected. "Ash has the momentum on his side, and his battle strategies are far more complex and effective than anything Steven has come up with so far. Not to mention Ash hasn't lost a single Pokémon, yet."

Everyone just stared at Paul. They knew he had a point.

"So how do you plan on beating Ash if you make it to that point?" Dawn asked her boyfriend.

Paul grinned. "I have a team that I'm saving specifically to face Ash." The Pyramid King told the group. "I'm sure I will have a good chance of beating him. Champion or not, Ash is still a trainer with weaknesses, and I've already figured out a few flaws in his tactics."

"Would you care to tell us some?" Gary asked curiously.

"No," Paul said.

 _(Back on the Field)_

"Excadrill, battle for me!" Steven said as he tossed his Poké ball in the air.

"Drill…" the drill Pokémon said as it appeared.

"Return, Staraptor," Ash brought the Predator Pokémon back. "Seismitoad, I choose you!"

A big, blue toad appeared in front of the crowd. It didn't look intimidating, it just stood there with no emotion.

"Um…okay," Steven hesitated. "Let's just try and end this fast Excadrill—use Drill Run!"

"Excadrill!" the ground and steel type said as it put its claws together and spun rapidly taking the form of a drill which headed towards the water and ground type.

The Drill Pokémon landed its attack on the water and ground type's stomach which caused an explosion. Excadrill appeared out of the smoke cloud and jumped back towards Steven.

"Don't let it recover—use Giga Impact!" Steven ordered.

The Drill Pokémon charged forward through the smoke and landed another direct attack on its target. The Giga Impact caused another explosion, and Excadrill, again, jumped back to Steven whom was now smiling.

"That should be it," Steven stated. He looks towards Ash and was surprised by the Kalos Champion's expression—he was smiling.

"Like I said, Steven," Ash finally spoke up. "You shouldn't get overconfident."

As Ash said those words, the Vibration Pokémon appeared out to dust with no emotion on its face like when it had first arrived on the field. All of a sudden, it took a deep breath and got into a battle stance.

"Seismitoad, Hydro Pump!"

The water and ground type released a powerful jet stream of water towards its opponent. Steven was shocked but was able to react.

"Dodge, and use Drill Run!"

The Drill Pokémon jumped out the way of the water attack and leaped towards Seismitoad with a Drill Run.

"Full power Drain Punch!" Ash countered.

Steven was about to stop his Pokémon, but it was too late. When Excadrill was a few inches away, Seismitoad quickly swung its arm back and forcefully thrusted it onto Excadrill's face. The frog then started to glow green as it drained all the energy of its opponent. After the attack concluded, Seismitoad removed its arm from Excadrill's face which caused the Drill Pokémon to fall forward with swirls in its eyes.

"What!" Steven exclaimed. "How could my Excadrill go down in one shot?!"

"Seismitoad landed a direct hit," Ash then continued. "Your Excarill was also probably tired from the strong attacks it had to do, too."

"Excadrill is unable to battle; the winner is Seismitoad!" the referee announced.

The crowd cheered.

 _(With May and the Group)_

"I love you, Ash!" a random fan girl yelled behind the group.

Another girl screamed the same thing as well as many other fan girls.

May started to feel jealous. "Hey!" She fiercely said with the hint of anger. "Be quiet! You're distracting him!"

"May, calm down," Dawn told her friend. "They are just random girls that will never meet Ash."

"Lucky Ash," Brock said with his head down. "He can get any girl he wants while I have none!"

Smack! Was all everyone could hear when May's hand hit Brock behind the head. As Brock rubbed his head, Max spoke up.

"Hey guys, the match is about to start."

 _(On the Field)_

"You ready, Steven?" Ash asked.

"Of course," Steven smirked as he gripped a Poké ball in his hand.

Boom!

Ash turned his head to the direction where he heard the sound. "What was that?" He said.

"It sounded like an explosion," Steven stated.

"Master Ash!"

Ash and Steven turned and saw Ed running on the field. He was breathing heavily when he approached them like if he had running for a while. He quickly regained his composure before speaking to the Champions.

"Master Ash and Master Steven, Team Flare is attacking the Steven Co. just outside of Kalos!" He said. "I saw them arrive and came running here to the stadium to tell you."

"What!?" Steven exclaimed. "Ash, you must help me run them off."

Ash nodded as he sent out Staraptor and Steven sent out his Archeops to fly to Steven Co.

 _(With May and the Group)_

"There has been an emergency in town that requires Champion Ash's attention," The referee announced. "For that matter, the rest of the match will be postponed, and we are advising you all to go home."

Everyone, but the group, got up and calmly started exiting the stadium to head to their homes. They were disappointed that the match had to be postponed, but they understood that Ash has a responsibility as Champion of Kalos to protect the town from criminals.

The group turned and looked at each other.

"We need to follow them!" Dawn said.

"I know, Dawn…" May stated worriedly.

"Well then, let's go!" Max exclaimed.

With that the group started to run in the direction where Ash and Steven flew off to. As they were running, they saw more members of team flare and the three woman who attacked them in the plaza go the opposite direction to where they were going.

"Stop!" Paul announced. The group stopped and stared at Paul confusingly.

"What is it, Paul?" Gary asked. "We need to help Ash."

"I know that," Paul said. "But why are these Team Flare members going in the opposite direction of where Ash and Steven are going? It would only make sense that they would head to Steven Co. as well.

"So what are you saying, Paul?" May asked.

"I'm saying maybe we should follow those idiots while Ash and Steven handle whatever is going on over there." Paul said as he pointed to the direction of the Champions.

"But what about Ash?" May asked worriedly. She really wanted to make sure Ash was okay, and the only way she would know is if she was there in person to see him well.

"He'll be fine, May," Dawn said as she stood next to her boyfriend. "He is the Champion you know."

May knew her friends were right. She nodded as they went to the direction of the other Team Flare grunts. The group saw them enter what looked like a museum and decided to just confront Team Flare.

"What are you guys doing!?" Dawn yelled when she opened the door to the museum.

Bryony, Celosia, and Maple turned around looking annoyed that they had been followed.

"You," Bryony said as she pointed to one of the Team Flare grunts. "You finish collecting the data, and we will handle these kids."

"Yes, ma'am!" the grunt replied.

All three women turned around with a Poké ball in their hands. Maple spoke up first.

"You kids again, huh?"

"We're not kids!" Tracey yelled. "That's Misty, Gary, Max, May, Dawn, Brock, and Paul!"

Paul shook his head in frustration. The sketch artist didn't realize he just gave his friend's names to the evil organization. The three admins just laughed at the sketch artist.

"Your friend is an idiot," Celosia said as she pointed at Tracey. "He doesn't realize that now we can do our research on all of you and find out all your personal information."

The group looked at Tracey with frustration in their eyes except for Paul who was staring at Celosia.

"Yes, he is an idiot," Paul gritted his teeth. "But he's _my_ idiot, and no one can call him that but me! Magmortar stand by for battle!"

The group just looked at the pyramid king. They wondered why would Paul defend Tracey if the artist causes him so much stress. Dawn was the only one who smiled at her boyfriend's act. She knew Paul better than anyone in the group; she knew deep down Paul cared for Tracey even if Tracey causes him so much grief.

"Aww, you do care," Tracey said.

"Don't push it!" Paul replied. " _I'm going to regret ever defending him, aren't I?_ "

"If it's a battle you want," Bryony said as she tossed her Poké ball. "Then a battle you will get—Liepard, wait to attack."

The Cruel and Blast Pokémon just stared at each other. Celosia then sent out her Weavile, and Maple sent out her Drapion.

May and Dawn decided to battle Celosia while Brock and Max decided to take on Maple. Paul made a gesture to leave him alone to battle Bryony.

"Misty, Gary, you guys should go get officer Jenny over here," Tracey said. "I'll stay and make sure to back up Paul."

"What about the others?" Gary asked.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Tracey said. "But I can help back them up too if they need it."

Both Misty and Gary ran out the museum to go get the officer.

 _(With Paul)_

"Magmortar, use Flamethrower!" Paul commanded.

"Lieperd, use Shadow Ball," Bryony countered. "Then use Shadow Claw!"

Both Magmortar and Liepard fired their attacks towards each other. Once the moves collided with each other, Liepard took advantage and charged at Magmortar with its claw glowing purple. It slashed the Blast Pokémon making it cringe.

"Magmortar, get up and use Thunderbolt!" Paul quickly made a command.

Magmortar quickly set up his cannon arms and fired a massive electrical attack to the Cruel Pokémon.

"Raa!" Liepard cried in agony as the Thunderbolt shocked its body.

Before Bryony made a command a Team Flare grunt appeared.

"We have gotten all the information we needed," the grunt said. "Shall we make our getaway?"

Bryony looked to her right and saw that Celosia wasn't handling May's Delcatty and Dawn's Mamoswine very well. She then looked to the left and saw Maple was also struggling with Brock's Crobat and Max's Gallade.

"Okay, but first," Bryony smirked. "Liepard use Night Slash!"

Liepard swiftly charged forward to complete the attack.

Paul smirked because he had a plan for the cat if it decided to do another close range attack. However, Paul's eyes widened when he saw Liepard go around Magmortar and head straight for him. He closed his eyes as he felt a sharp claw slash his arm.

"Ahhh!" He yelled.

Dawn turned her head when she heard the yell because she knew who it was. "Noooo!" Her eyes were forming tears as she ran towards her boyfriend.

"Marill, use Hydro Pump!"

The blue mouse fired the massive water attack to Liepard. It collided directly with the purple cat sending it crashing against a wall.

"Grrr, Celosia, Maple, let's retreat!" Bryony yelled. "We got what came for anyway."

The three women recalled their Pokémon and quickly left the museum.

Tracey returned Marill and ran to where Brock was checking Paul's shoulder. Everyone had already gathered around the two when Team Flare had exited. May had calmed Dawn down and told her that Brock would take care of him.

"We need to get him the hospital," Brock said sternly. "The wound is pretty deep, so we need to move quickly."

Gary and Misty had arrived with Officer Jenny when the group was about to exit the building. Max and Brock decided to stay behind and explain to Jenny what happened in the museum while the others took Paul to the hospital. They hoped Paul's injury wasn't as bad as Brock made it out to be. But the group would know until they reached hospital.

 **Well guys, that will do it for me this time. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know this one came earlier than the last one but I will write when I have time. Anyway guys, I have some awesome news to tell you! I am starting a new story! It is an advanceshipping story that doesn't have the usual plot of having Ash disappearing and coming back strong; it's similar but different. First chapter should be up hopefully by tomorrow. And don't worry, I will work on this story as well, but I have this idea I want to get out of my head.**

 **Well guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will try to have the next chapter up as quickly as I can.**

 **Anyway see you guys on the next chapter!**

 **Don't forget to review because I really want to know what you guys think.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Pokémon and none of the characters.**

 **What is up ladies and gentlemen! Now I want to address something before you guys start reading. I got a whole bunch of PMs saying if I turn this story into an amourshipping story, they would stop reading. I know what I am doing, and trust me guys the advanceshipping is about to start. This chapter is going to be smaller but for reasons you might like.**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to read and review!**

 _(With Ash and Steven)_

Ash and Steven jumped off their flying Pokémon as soon as they got to the balcony of Steven Co. They recalled their Pokémon and entered the building only to find the leader of Team Flare with a grunt by his side.

"Ah Ash, you've finally arrived," Lysandre said. "Oh, and you brought Steven for back up. What's wrong? You don't think you can handle me alone, Ash."

"I thought Ash dealt with you before he became the Champion of Kalos," Steven growled as he held a Poké ball in his hand.

"Get out of here before you get hurt!" The grunt spat at the champions.

"You are in no position to make threats to anyone." Ash stated as he reached for a Poké ball.

"If it's a battle you want," Lysandre said as he threw a Poké ball in the air. "Then it's a battle you'll get."

From Lysandre's Poké ball came out a lion with red fur around its neck.

"Pyroar!" the Royal Pokémon roared.

"Go, Dusknoir!" the grunt exclaimed.

"Ash, please take care of Dusknoir," Steven said. "I'll take care of Lysandre—go, Metagross!"

"Meta!" the pseudo legendary yelled as it emerged from its ball. His Metagross was a shiny Pokémon; instead of blue, its body was grey and had a yellow "X" instead of grey one.

"Pikachu, let's finish this." Ash told to his friend who has been on his shoulder.

"Pika!" the little rodent got into its battle stance.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash ordered.

"Pikapikapikapikapika!" Pikachu chanted as it engulfed itself in electricity and charged towards the ghost Pokémon.

"Like if your puny Pikachu can beat my Dusknoir," The grunt mocked Ash. "Counter it with Fire Punch!"

Dusknoir threw its hand engulfed in fire towards the little rodent who was still charging at it. Pikachu attacked the Fire Punch head on and easily overpowered it, landing his attack on the ghost Pokémon's stomach. The direct hit caused Dusknoir to fly across the room and crash into the wall.

"What?" The grunt hesitated to say. "How could that have happened?!"

The Kalos Champion just smiled. He knew people would lose the battle if they underestimated his Pikachu. He then turned to Steven who was battling Lysandre. He saw Metagross dodge a Flamethrower and use Meteor Mash on the Pyroar. Just then, Ash heard a ring coming from the grunt's watch. He saw that the grunt was smile as he pressed a button on the watch.

"Yes," the grunt said as he returned his fainted Pokémon and turn towards his boss. "Sir, it's done!"

"Excellent," the leader of Team Flare said and turned back to the battle. "Pyroar, use Hyper Voice!"

"Roar!" Pyroar roared as its voice echoed throughout the building. Everyone—with the exception of Lysandre and his grunt—covered their ears in pain.

When the attack stopped, Ash and Steven looked up to see Team Flare had disappeared. They sighed; they knew they couldn't do anything else at Steven Co., so they decided to head back to Ash's suite to discuss what just happened.

 _(With May and the Group)_

The gang had taken ten minutes to get to the hospital. When they had arrived, the doctors (including Brock) quickly took Paul and put him on a stretcher, so they could take care of his injuries. Dawn was sobbing, fearing the worst could happen to her boyfriend. May had a sad look on her face because she had never seen her friend this emotional before. It kind of surprised the brunette.

"Dawn, it's going to be okay." May reassured as she put an arm around the blue-haired coordinator's shoulder.

"Yeah, it will take more than a move to hurt Paul," Gary added.

Dawn looked at her friends for a moment before turning her head towards the door where Paul went through. They were right in a way. Paul is the toughest person she knows. Dawn started to clear her eyes and gave them a faint smile. She was going to speak but was interrupted when Brock appeared from the door. The group quickly ran to the Pokémon Doctor. Brock put his hand up before any of them could speak.

"Paul's wound wasn't as critical as I originally thought," He said. "However, he won't be able to battle for two weeks."

"Can we see him?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, but we need to be careful not to touch his arm."

The girl nodded. The Pokémon Doctor led them to the Battle Pyramid King's room. When she reached the room, Dawn quickly open the door. She saw him sitting up looking at his arm that was covered in bandages. She saw her boyfriend's arm in bandages and frowned.

"Oh my gosh," Dawn said walking up to Paul's bedside. She scanned his injured arm before she spoke. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you…"

Paul just looked at his girlfriend.

"Better me than you, right?"

"So how's the arm?" Max asked.

"It's alright, I guess," Paul replied. "I won't be able to battle for a while, though."

"Well, Brock said you aren't going to be able to battle for like about two weeks," May stated lowly.

Paul just nodded in understanding. Then Gary spoke up.

"So what does this mean for you and the Kalos Elite Four?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Max added. "There has to be a rule about postponing battles if the challenger were to get hurt."

"Yeah, it's something like that," Paul answered. "I am being put on some-sort-of disability list."

"What does that mean?" Misty asked.

"It basically means after my arm fully heals, I can continue facing the Elite Four."

Dawn then smiled and spoke.

"Did you know Tracey got your back when they attacked you?" Dawn told her boyfriend.

"What did he do?" Paul asked.

The Pokémon Watcher decided to speak.

"I had your back when they attacked you," He said.

 _"…_ _I'll let that one go this time,"_ Paul thought. "I get that Tracey, but what _exactly_ did you do?"

"Oh, I had Marill use Hydro Pump on that Liepard."

Paul thanked Tracey which then resulted into Tracey hugging him. Paul yelled in pain as the artist squeezed his arm. After the group removed Tracey from Paul, they had to stop Paul from throwing his food at the sketch artist. The group spent another half hour with their injured friend before the doctor entered the room to tell them that Paul needed to get some sleep. Everybody wished their friend a goodnight and exited the room one by one. Dawn gave her boyfriend a kiss on the forehead and promised to see him tomorrow before leaving the room. Paul nodded and said goodbye.

The purple-haired trainer looked around the room and smiled brightly. He grabbed the remote for his bed and pressed it to slowly recline his mattress. Paul then put his good arm behind his head and closed his eyes. "Finally," He stated happily. "Some peace and quiet time all by myself…and the best part is—there is no _Tracey,_ " The trainer fell asleep with a huge smile on face.

 _(With Ash in his Suite)_

"You sure you are okay, buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika, Pikapi."

"I know you beat him in one shot, but you did battle three Pokémon today," Ash replied. "I don't want you to overdue it."

Pikachu nodded. The mouse jumped off the trainer's lap went to the bed to sleep. When Pikachu closed his eyes, Steven appeared from Ash's Kalos suite kitchen with a water bottle in his hand.

"Thanks for the water, Ash," Steven said. "Though after what just happened, I thought you would have given me something a little stronger than this."

"Don't mention it Steven," Ash replied. "And no because I don't have any Moomoo Milk. Anyways, I'm still wondering why they attacked the building you just built. There really wasn't anything valuable, or important, to take from there."

"I don't know, Ash, but I need to get to the bottom of this," Steven told his fellow champion. "In the meantime, I think it's best if we postpone the rest of our match, so I can go back to Hoenn to investigate."

Ash nodded. He understood Steven was under a lot of pressure now. He had to admit, though, he really wanted to finish the battle with him, but he knew Steven needed to attend to this incident.

"Anyways, Ash, I need to go to bed," Steven said. "I will leave tomorrow morning. so I bid you farewell, my good friend."

Steven walked out the suite leaving Ash alone with a sleeping yellow mouse on his bed. Ash watched the Hoenn Champion walk out and shut the door.

"I guess he said goodbye?" Ash thought out loud.

He shrugged and decided it was time to get some rest. Ash took a quick shower, so he could change into his sleepwear which only consisted of some shorts but no shirt. After he finished changing, he stretched and made himself comfortable on the bed next to Pikachu whom was curled up at the end of the bed. Right when Ash closed his eyes, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come on, man." Ash sighed as he got off his bed and threw on a muscle shirt. He then walked towards the door and opened it. Ed was standing at the door with a frustrated look on his face.

"Um Master Ash, may I come in?" Ed asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah sure, Ed," Ash said kind of worried. "Is something wrong?"

"It is about your challenger." Ed replied.

Ash sighed in disappointment. This just was not a good day for the Kalos Champion.

"Let me guess," Ash stated blatantly. "He lost."

"No, not that," Ed corrected. "He—was hurt in the attack of Team Flare…"

"What?!" Ash exclaimed waking up Pikachu.

Pikachu race towards his trainer's side with static appearing from his cheeks ready to protect his friend. When he saw it was only Ed, though, he quickly calmed down and sat next to Ash.

"Don't worry, Pikachu, I'm fine," Ash said with a sad smile. "But our challenger got hurt by the attack formed by Team Flare."

"Pika…" Pikachu replied with a disappointed face.

"I know," Ash told his best friend. He then turned to Ed. "What happened to him?"

"He was trying to stop Team Flare from taking important data at the museum," Ed explained. "It was there that he was attacked by one of Team Flare's Pokémon and was sent to the hospital."

Ash was slowly getting angry the more Ed explained what happened. The flame-haired man backed away a little from the Champion.

"It's my fault," Ash said calming down.

"Pikapika chu" Pikachu said to his friend.

"It is, buddy," Ash replied. "If I had known that Team Flare went to the museum too, I would have gone there after I left Steven Co."

"Pikapi chupika"

"I think you're right, Pikachu," Ash said then turned to Ed. "Can Pikachu and I see the guy who got hurt? We want to thank him for dealing with the trouble at the museum."

Ed thought for a moment. Ash spoke again.

"I know I can't see him, but we really want to thank him."

Ed could tell Ash was very determined about seeing the challenger and would go see him with or without the schedule manager's permission. "Okay," Ed said quickly. "But I'm going to escort you as your bodyguard."

"Deal," Ash replied with a smile.

"Get rest up then," Ed said as he walked out the door. "We'll leave early in the morning when there is hardly anybody working in the hospital."

"Thanks, Ed." Ash said as Ed left his suite.

Ash didn't mind waking up early; in fact, he really enjoyed it. He realized that was when the Kalos Region was extremely quiet—when the people were all sleeping peacefully.

"Let's get to bed, Pikachu," Ash said as they got into bed. "We have a long day tomorrow."

 _(Early Morning the Next Day)_

It was early in the morning when Ash, Pikachu, and Ed were walking towards the hospital. When they walked inside the building, Ed told his two companions to wait by the entrance while he went to talk to the nurse. Ed returned two minutes to Ash and Pikachu with the information they needed to proceed their task.

"He is in room A-06," Ed said. "Let's go quickly. The next shift should be starting in about thirty minutes which means more people are going to start showing up."

Ash nodded with Pikachu on his shoulders.

It took the trio five minutes to find the room where Paul was at. They had taken a small detour that Ash thought would get them there faster but it did not. Just as Ed was about to open the door to the room, they heard a scream from across the hall.

"Ahhh! Oh my gosh!" A blonde-haired girl called. "It's Master Ash!"

All of a sudden, a group of women were running towards a trio at an extremely fast pace.

"Get inside the room!" Ed said quickly. "I'll try and lead them away."

Ash and Pikachu quickly entered the room. They wondered how Ed would lead them away if they saw which room they had gone inside. To the Champion's surprise, nobody was trying to get into the room. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and shrugged.

"Ketchum?"

Ash turned and looked confusingly at the man on the bed. His eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Paul?"

 _( Five minutes before)_

Paul woke up and check the clock next to him—it was 6:15 a.m. He could not seem to get comfortable with his injured arm to get some sleep. He sighed. "The one time I have some time to myself I can't seem to relax," Paul thought out loud. He decided to just stay and wait for Dawn to show up; it would not be long before they arrived to see him.

All of a sudden, Paul heard screaming coming from the hall. "What was that?" Paul turned his head to the which had opened and closed quickly. His eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Ketchum?"

 _(Present Time)_

"Paul what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I don't know if you can tell, Ash," Paul said sarcastically. "But this is a hospital, and I am hurt."

Ash smiled. The last time he talked to Paul was after finishing the Unova League. He didn't tell purple-haired teen at the time where he was going, but Ash did contact him. The raven-haired man could tell Paul had not change after those years from the last time they talked.

"So you are my challenger, huh?" Ash grinned. "I can't say that I'm not surprised."

Paul smirked. "Well, the only reason why I'm here is because the rest of your friends wanted to see you again," He explained. "They wouldn't let us see you because you are the Champion and are, apparently, very busy. Anyways, they let me challenge the Elite Four and promised that if I win each match that we would get to meet you. Besides, I've been hearing that you're almost unbeatable, so I thought I would prove the people wrong." Paul smiled.

Ash looked at Paul with confusion.

"Why didn't you just call my mom to ask for my Kalos suite number?" Ash asked.

"If it would've been that easy, then I wouldn't be here in this hospital bed, right?" Paul answered. "We didn't have your mom's number to call her to begin with. Besides, some of us were more eager to come to Kalos than to think of a smart plan."

The Kalos champion nodded in understanding. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and onto Paul's bed. The yellow mouse quickly got comfortable and fell asleep. Ash looked at Pikachu and realized that the Electric-type had not rested enough. The Kalos Champion grabbed the seat next to the bed so that he could sit down.

"Anyways, I actually came to thank you for stopping Team Flare at the museum," Ash said. "I heard the challenger was injured in the process and wanted to make sure he or she was alright. I, actually, didn't find out that you were a man until late last night when my schedule manager told me what had happened."

"I didn't really stop them," Paul replied ignoring Ash's last remarks. "They took some data and when I confronted them about it, they attacked me."

Ash shook his head and spoke.

"Yeah, that sounds like something they would do," Ash explained. "They will do anything to get what they want."

"Well that would have been good to know earlier," Paul chuckled.

They were each silent for a moment.

"So…" Ash said changing the subject. "You said 'my friends' are here, right?"

Paul nodded.

"Who specifically?" Ash asked.

"Dawn, Brock, Max, Misty, Gary, Tracey, and May." Paul replied. "May was the one who really wanted to come see you, though."

Ash looked at Paul with confusion.

"Why?"

Paul grinned. "Sorry, that's not for me to tell."

Ash shrugged. He then looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was about to be seven in the morning. He knew Ed would get angry if he stayed any longer.

"Alright, Paul," Ash said getting up and picking up Pikachu. "I got to go because I am meeting up with some friends; thanks again for helping out with Team Flare."

"Any time, Ash," Paul said as he looked at Ash walking out his room with Pikachu in his arms. "Though I am going to think twice about doing it again…and the next time we meet people will be chanting my name because I beat the Kalos champion."

Ash smiled. "If you can get passed the rest of my Elite Four, then I'll be glad to prove you wrong," With that he walked out.

Ash quickly checked the hall to see if anyone was around before heading towards the back exit.

 _(With Paul)_

It had been five minutes since Ash left the injured trainer's room. Paul still couldn't believe that the person they were searching for appeared in his room.

 _"_ _I wonder when Dawn is going to here,"_ Paul thought.

After his thought finished, two girls walked in the room.

"Hey, Paul," Dawn said as she kissed his head.

"How are you feeling?" May asked as she sat on the chair close to the bed. Dawn sat next Paul on the bed.

"A little better from yesterday," Paul replied. "Where is everybody?"

"Everyone went to eat at the cafeteria," Dawn answered. "May and I ate quickly, so we could be here before you wake up, but it looks like that didn't work."

"I woke up early because I couldn't sleep," Paul explained to the girls. He then remembered that Ash had just left his room a moment ago. "Oh, and May—Ash was here."

May's eyes widened.

"What?!" May asked eagerly.

"I said Ash was just here," Paul said more clearly. The Pyramid King shook his head. "I am surprised you guys didn't run into him."

"Where is he now?" Dawn asked trying to help her friend.

"I don't know," Paul said honestly. "But I think he should still be here somewhere. My guess is that he would have taken the back way out as to not be seen by anybody which would take longer to leave the hospital.

May and Dawn dashed out the room leaving Paul alone.

"So much for waiting up…" Paul thought out loud.

 _(With Ash)_

"Well, that took longer than I expected." Ash told Pikachu who had woken up five minutes ago.

"Pikapika kapi, Pikapi," Pikachu commented.

"True, if we would've guessed that Ed left earlier after getting us to the room, then we would've probably been gone by now…go, Charizard!" Ash summoned his Kanto starter. "Let's go meet Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont for breakfast."

The lizard nodded and kneeled down so Ash and Pikachu could get on. Pikachu ran up Charizard's neck and stood on the lizard's head. The yellow mouse said hello to his friend which was greeted with a low growl.

Ash smiled at his Pokémon. "Let's get going, guys."

Charizard had just flapped his wings and taken flight when someone yelled out his trainer's name.

"Ash!"

Ash turned around and saw two girls running towards his direction. He looked at them with a confused looked before he recognized one of the girls.

"May?"

 **That will do it for me, guys! I know what you are going to say, "Dammit RedHood it just got good!" but trust me when I say that I wanted to upload more, but I lost all the writing I did last time. I wanted to update this story because it has been a while since I have. Now, May and Ash finally meet! I am ready for the Advanceshipping to start in this story.**

 **Thanks a lot for the support for both my stories. I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

 **Don't forget to Review!**

 **See you guys next time.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own Pokémon.**

 **Yes, I know it has been a long time and I'm sorry guys. Thanks for waiting. I hope that all of you guys have been patient when it comes to updating. I had to rethink some parts about the story because I did not like the way it was turning out. I will do my best to make my stories entertaining for my readers!**

 **Love you guys and once again thanks for being patient with me!**

 **Don't forget to review! It motivates me!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Please read till the very end so that I may explain something to you guys.**

 **Chapter 12**

Ash patted Charizard on the neck which told the flying Pokémon to descend to the ground. The Fire-type nodded and slowly flapped its wings to lower itself onto the concrete. Once Charizard safely landed on the ground, Ash jumped off his back and stared at the two women in front of him.

"May? Dawn?" Ash looked questioningly at the beautiful women. "Is that really you?"

"Y-yeah," Dawn uttered. She could not believe the tall, strong man in front of her was the same Ash she traveled with years before. He was at least a foot taller than she and May were. "It's us…"

Ash smiled and grabbed them into a hug. The two coordinators were surprised at first, but they eventually hugged him back tightly. After a few seconds, Ash let them go and grinned. "Paul had told me a few of my old friends came to see me; I just left his room not too long ago," He explained.

Dawn opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a yellow mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu said as he jumped into her arms. He nuzzled into her chest when she caught him.

"Hi, Pikachu!" Dawn said squeezing the yellow mouse. "I haven't seen you in a long time! How have you been?"

"Pikachu pi!"

"Hmm, I'm going to assume that that means good!"

Ash smiled at the conversation Dawn and Pikachu were having. He then turned to May who had a blank expression on her face. She was staring at him plainly. "Hi, May," Ash stated happily. "How have you been? It's been a while since we've seen each other, huh?"

May did not say anything; her face just flushed red when Ash spoke to her.

Dawn noticed her reaction and decided to help. "She's been great, Ash," The blue-haired coordinator intervened with Pikachu in her arms. "Isn't that right, May?" She nudged the brunette on the shoulder hoping it would assist.

May blinked and quickly glanced at Dawn before turning back to Ash. "Oh…uh…y-yeah, I've been great, Ash. Thank you for asking."

Ash grinned. "Well, that's good to hear," He said. There was a small silence before he continued. "How are you both doing in your coordinating careers? I have to admit I…haven't really been able to keep with your progress because I'm usually busy with Kalos Champion stuff," Ash explained as rubbed his head sheepishly. "That and I have a very strict schedule manager who always has som-"

"What are you still doing here?!"

Ash cringed. "Who always has something for me to do…" He finished. Ash turned around to see Ed with a stern look on his face. "Hey, Ed. I thought you left after getting those girls to leave Paul's room. I didn't know you were still here."

Ed looked at the Champion confusingly and angrily. "So, you just assumed that I left _you_ in a hospital—a very busy and populated place with people—when it's still early in the day?"

"Um…yeah?"

"I'd never do such a thing!" Ed argued. "I said I was going to be your bodyguard when we came to see Paul. What kind of bodyguard would I be if I were to leave you in such a way?!"

"I guess not a very good one…"

Pikachu jumped from Dawn's arms to Ash's shoulder to help take the blame.

"Exactly!" Ed stated. He then turned and noticed two familiar faces. "Hey, I know you ladies. You're both traveling with the challenger, right?"

Dawn and May glared angrily at Ed.

"Yeah, we remember you," Dawn said with some hostility. She crossed her arms sassily before she continued. "I remember specifically telling you a name to tell Ash, so he'd know that his friends were here in Kalos looking for him!"

"I did tell Ash about it, and he said he didn't remember anyone with the name 'April' from any of his previous travels."

May heard Ed's explanation and fumed. "My name is May—not April!"

"Hmm…" Ed uttered to himself. He then turned to Ash who was staring at him with a grin. "I was only a month off."

Ash chuckled before May could respond to his friend's answer. "Well, that doesn't matter anymore, right? We're all here and that's all that matters…"

Both girls realized he was right and slowly calmed down. Dawn then lightly elbowed May to get her to speak up to Ash. The brunette slightly blushed and took in a deep breath. This was the moment May had been waiting for since they arrived in Kalos.

Before May could utter a sound, however, Ed spoke up. "Ash, I got a call from Officer Jenny." He stated. "She wants you to get to the station, so she could ask you what happened at Steven Co. I think getting there as soon as possible is the best thing for you to do."

"You have to leave already?" May quickly asked.

Ash smiled at the two girls. "No need to worry—it should only take me an hour or two," He reassured. "Why don't we all met up after I'm done with Officer Jenny, yeah? What do you think?"

"We loved to!" May exclaimed loudly causing everyone to look at her. She blushed and quickly said something to get the attention away from herself. "I-I mean Max really wants to see you again. He wants to have a practice battle with you…I-I mean if you would let him that is."

Ash nodded. "I'm looking forward to it," He said happily. "There's a park near the plaza that's very nice to hang out. I'll meet you all there," He then pulled Dawn and May into another quick hug. Ash let them go and said he'd meet everyone later. He and Pikachu climbed on top of Charizard and flew off to the station.

Ed watched Charizard disappear into the distance before speaking. "Well, I did my job today," He then turned to May and Dawn and bowed. "I'm really sorry for making that mistake with the name thing…I know it was really important, and I am truly sorry," Ed glanced at his watch before he continued. "At least the problem solved itself…well, I'm going to get breakfast; you two have a nice day. Once again, I am really sorry," With that Ed left the two girls alone.

After a few seconds of watching Ed walk away, Dawn shrugged. "Come on," She told May. "Let's go see Paul."

May nodded and began walking back to Paul's room. _"I got to see him…"_ She thought as her heart raced. _"Now what do I do?"_

XxXxXxX

"So, Ash said he'll meet us after he finishes at the station…" May explained to the gang in Paul's room.

May and Dawn told everyone what happened when they saw Ash outside of the hospital. Paul had also told the gang about Ash visiting him earlier. After hearing that they would all be meeting Ash in little while, everyone was excited to head to the park—everyone except for one person.

"I have to battle Ash?!" Max yelled. "Have you seen him battle, May?! He's going to destroy me without breaking a sweat…No way, I'm not battling him…"

"Come on, Max," May pleaded. She knew it was her fault that Max was in this situation, but she did not want Ash to notice her excited or flustered expression. "I know I put you in a difficult spot, but I know you can give Ash a good match. Remember you placed top eight in all your competitions except Unova—you placed top four in Unova."

Dawn realized what she was doing and joined in. "Yeah, Max, you actually placed higher than Ash did when he first tried them," She commented. "In fact, we think you have a better chance at beating him than Paul does!"

"You're kidding, right?" Paul said trying to get off his hospital bed only to be restrain by Brock and Tracey. Paul glared at his girlfriend who just turned and winked at him as if saying "play along".

With those words, Max smiled at his sister and friends.

"Yeah, that is true…you guys are right!" He stated proudly clenching his fists. "Gary? Misty? Can you guys help me come up with a strategy?"

"Sure," They both said.

"Alright, then let's go!"

Misty and Gary told everyone else that they would meet up with them at the park and followed Max out the room. Everyone in the room stared at the trio as they quietly exited the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Paul started to laugh.

"What's so funny, Paul?" Dawn asked her boyfriend.

"You guys said he had a better chance of Ash than I do," Paul said in between laughs. "But Max couldn't even beat the Battle Frontier."

"But Paul, didn't you struggle with Brandon when you battled him the second time?"

Paul stopped laughing and stared blankly at Tracey. "I beat it and that's all that matters…"

May then decided to change the conversation. "Maybe we should go what Max train?" She said. "It'd be better if we're there early just in case, you know."

Everyone nodded and started walking out the door until they heard a beep from behind them. They all turned to see Paul getting off his bed.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Dawn asked.

Paul didn't answer; he simply—or rather struggled with one arm to put on his shoes and started to walk out of the room.

"Hey, I am talking to you mister!" Dawn yelled to her boyfriend.

"There's no way I'm missing Max's battle with Ash."

Dawn pouted. "Alright, fine," She gave in. "But at least fully change out of those med-robes into your clothes before we leave. Brock will help you…and when we get there, you're staying next to me the whole time."

"Fair enough."

Dawn then remembered something from earlier. "And…I heard that there were girls trying to get into your room…is that true?" She eyed Paul suspiciously.

"They were following Ash and were trying to get to him."

"There were girls here?!" Brock intervened. "Why would you keep such a thing from me, Paul? I thought we were friends."

"If anything, you should be mad with Ash. He has girls following him everywhere and he hasn't told yo—ouch!" Dawn slapped Paul on his good arm. "What was that for?"

Dawn just started walking with May shoulder to shoulder out of the room.

Paul turned to Brock and Tracey confusingly. "What did I say?"

"You said 'words' and that's what got you in trouble."

"Not now, Tracey!"

"Actually," Brock interjected. "I think Tracey has a point."

Paul stared briefly before sighing. "Let's just hurry up, so we can catch up with them…"

XxXxXxX

It had been two hours since May and her friends had left the hospital to find Max. They found him with Misty and Gary at Chespin Park where Ash said he would essentially meet them. It was fairly empty besides a few people walking their Furfrou around the area. Max was training, but he was taking-it-easy so that his Pokémon would not get injured. He wanted his Pokémon to be well-rested for his battle with Ash. Max gave them a break and walked over to his friends.

"You think you really have a chance to beat Ash?"

"Of course I do, Tracey!" Max said in a cocky tone. "It's all about tactics."

 _"_ _He's going to get creamed…"_ Paul thought. "You're going to be alright, Max."

"I don't know," Gary said. "We've seen Ash beat two champions—three if you include the way the match was going with Steven. And it seemed like all three had a tactic that didn't work."

"Plus, he's only lost one Pokémon in all those battles," Brock added.

The young trainer looked at his friends and smirked. "Yeah, but Ash hasn't faced a trainer like me before," Max replied. "Besides, I have him figured out already."

May looked at her brother curiously. Did he really figure out Ash's battle strategy? He is smart for his age and always did idol Ash's tactics. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Max, just don't get over confident," May warned her brother. "Ash _is_ the most powerful trainer in Kalos…"

Max just waved her off and walked over to his Pokémon to give them a motivational speech. Paul, Tracey, Gary, and Brock followed him to hear his talk. Brock also wanted to check and heal any of Max's Pokémon before their big battle. The women decided to sit on a nearby bench and wait for their long-time friend to arrive. There was a brief silence before Dawn spoke up.

"So," She said to May. "When do you think that you'll tell Ash that you love him?"

May blushed. "I-I don't really know, Dawn…" She then looked away and stared worryingly at her two friends. "I feel like if I tell him right now, I'll scare him away…it'd seem so sudden, right?"

Dawn looked at May who had a sad expression on her face. She was right in a way. To just confess everything to Ash after they just met him again would not be such a good idea.

"So, when is Ash supposed to arrive?" Misty asked changing the subject.

"He should be here any minute," May said looking at her Pokétch. "He said that it would only take a couple of hours for him to finish at the police station."

"RAAA!"

Everyone looked up to see a Charizard flying towards their direction. The strong Fire-type noticed that people were looking him and grinned. Charizard increased his speed rapidly causing the trees nearby to move forward from the incredible force he was admitting. He noticed the people on ground were shielding their eyes from the dust, and his grin widened. Charizard then flew over to a clearing in the park and began to descend from the sky. When he was a few feet away from the surface, Charizard stopped flapping his massive wings and slammed onto the ground.

Ash jumped off with Pikachu on his shoulders and looked at Charizard. "Was all that really necessary?"

Charizard just smiled and shrugged.

"You really have your days, huh?" Ash told the Fire-type. "Take a rest…" He quickly returned Charizard into his Poké ball. "I don't think it would be a good idea to use him against Max right now. He might get carried away…"

"Ash!"

He turned around to see the group running up to him—May faster than the others. Ash smiled brightly when he saw all his old friends. He had not seen or heard from them in many years—mainly because he never had the time being the Kalos Champion and all—so he was ecstatic and eager to hear what they have all been up to. When everybody arrived to his location, Ash spoke up.

"Hey, guys!" He exclaimed. "It's nice to see you all again," Ash noticed that everybody was surprised to see him and decided to change the subject away from himself. "Hey, Brock! How's it going?"

Brock was shocked to see that the man standing in front of them was the "Ash Ketchum" that he traveled with. He coughed and regained his composure. "I-uh I'm doing fine, Ash!" Brock stated. "I became a Pokémon Doctor like I set out to be."

"That's great to hear! You made dreams your come true!"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Brock added. "But you made yo-"

"You're the Kalos Champion, Ash!"

Ash turned and smiled. "It's _nice_ to see you, too, Misty."

Misty blushed from embarrassment. "Oh uh, i-it's nice to see you, Ash…"

"Before we start talking and reminiscing," Ash quickly spoke up before anybody else could say anything. "Max," He called out to the flabbergasted young trainer. "May told me that you've been wanting to battle me. Why don't we do that now before anything else? Are you ready to go?"

Max stared nervously at the tall, strong man. When he realized that Ash was talking to him, Max shook off his initial shock to recollect himself. "I-I'm ready to battle when you are," He tried to say confidently.

"I've heard you've become a strong trainer," Ash stated proudly. He can tell that Max was nervous and hoped the compliment would ease him a little. "I'm expecting a good battle, alright?"

Max grinned feeling a little more confident. "Well, don't think I'll be going easy on you," He replied. "In fact, don't be surprised if I end up beating you…"

"Alright, you've got me intrigued," Ash said. "Let's make it a two-on-two battle, and to make it more interesting, let's make it a double-battle. Is that okay with you?"

"That's fine with me because I only need two Pokémon for my strategy to work."

"You have a strategy to beat me?"

Max smiled cockily. "Yup, and it's going to be your demise and my victory."

"Okay, let's get started then," Ash then turned to Brock. "Do you mind officiating the battle, Brock?"

"No, I'll be glad to do it!"

Everyone moved away to give Max and Ash a clear opening. They were all expecting an intense battle, so they moved far away from the two trainers, giving the battling Pokémon a lot of space.

 _"_ _This should be over in about five moves,"_ Paul thought. _"And that's being generous."_

Ash took the left side of the clearing while Max took the right side. Brock was standing in the middle ready to officiate the match.

"This will be a two on two double-battle. The trainer to make his opponent's Pokémon faint first will be the victor!" Brock announced. "Max, send out your two Pokémon."

"Go, Gallade and Sceptile!"

"Not bad!" Ash told Max. "I knew you wouldn't be going easy on me!"

"I'm battling to win!"

Ash smiled. "As am I…go!" He threw his two Poké balls in the air to summon his Pokémon. When the Poké balls opened, two large Pokémon slammed onto the field causing the ground to shake tremendously. Everybody, but Ash and Pikachu, had trouble trying to keep their balance to stand.

"Lax!"

"Phan!"

Everyone saw Donphan and Snorlax standing in front of Ash ready for battle. Donphan stared fiercely at its opponents while Snorlax stared and scratched its own stomach.

"Alright, let the battle begin!" Brock exclaimed.

"Gallade, use Ice Punch on Donphan," Max commanded. "Secptile, use Spore on Snorlax!"

"Lade!" Gallade's hand enveloped in ice and swiftly took off towards Donphan.

"Tile!" Secptile ran and jumped over the Chubby Pokémon. The green gecko released an aroma from its back over Snorlax's head. Snorlax looked up and saw the Spore getting closer, but did not bother to move. It inhaled the aroma and yawned loudly before slowly falling on its back causing a mini earthquake.

"Yes!" Max exclaimed as he saw the sleeping Pokémon. His plan was to put one Pokémon to sleep and focus on the other to get an advantage. It worked perfectly since Snorlax loves to sleep. Max can focus specifically on Donphan now.

"Good move, Max," Ash commented. " _Hmm, Snorlax could be asleep for the rest of the battle,"_ He thought. He turned to Pikachu to see what he thought, but the mouse just shrugged. Ash sighed and focused on the battle again. "Quick, Donphan, intercept the Ice Punch and send Gallade flying with Rollout!"

"Don!" Donphan said as it spun at an incredible speed towards the foe's blue palm.

The ground Pokémon felt a little pain when it collided with Gallade's Ice Punch, but it was still able to easily overpower the Fighting and Psychic-type and sent it flying towards Sceptile which caused them to crash into each other. Both Gallade and Sceptile recollected themselves from the ground and looked at the Armor Pokémon. It was clear that they took serious damage even if it just intercepted the attack.

"Time to put my plan into action," Max explained. "Gallade, use Dream eater on Snorlax, and Sceptile, use Giga Drain on Snorlax!"

"So, that's his plan, huh? What do you think, buddy?" Ash asked Pikachu.

"Pika Pikachu."

"I know it won't do much to Snorlax, but it's still a pretty good tactic," Ash replied. He paused before he continued. "However, that'll also be Max's downfall in the battle…"

Gallade was engulfed by purple energy that was linked with Snorlax. Meanwhile, Secptile had sent green energy vines to wrapped around the Chubby Pokémon to steal its health as well. The two Pokémon finished their energy-draining attacks and focused their attention towards Donphan once more.

"Impressive, Max!"

"You'll be more impressed when I win this match!" Max stated. "Use Close Combat and Leaf Blade on Donphan!"

Both Gallade and Sceptile rushed fiercely towards the elephant-like Pokémon.

"Wait for them…" Ash stated calmly.

As they closed the distance between their opponent, Gallade lifted its arms into a fighting stance and Sceptile's leaf-arms grew larger and into bright-green blades. When the two Pokémon were within reaching distance, they pulled their arms back to slash Donphan directly. Ash, however, was prepared the attacks.

"Tile!"

"Lade!"

"Use Dig!"

"Pha!" The Ground-type quickly dug into the ground barely dodging the attacks.

Max grunted. "Watch out! He can come out from anywhere!" Gallade and Sceptile searched cautiously to notice any movement from their surroundings.

Within seconds, Donphan exploded from soil behind Sceptile—surprising everybody in the process.

"Send it flying with Strength!" Donphan latched its trunk onto Sceptile's leg and viciously threw the Grass-type towards Gallade. The Fighting and Psychic-type eyes widened when it saw its partner flying to it. Both Pokémon collided severely and fell in pain.

XxXxXxX

"Whoa, that was an amazing move!"

"I know what you mean, Misty," Gary said. "I've never seen Strength used like that before…it was so powerful…"

Paul smirked. "I guess that means you would've lost by now, huh?"

"Well, if I were training like Ashy-boy, then there might be a different result," Gary replied confidently. "But, yeah, I probably would've lost by now…"

"I know; I just wanted to you to admit."

"I would have to think that Max is going to try and heal again before he continues to attack," Tracey intervened.

"That would be the smart thing to do, yeah," Paul agreed.

"What I don't understand is why Ash is letting it happen? Dawn interrupted.

"It's because Snorlax is asleep—that's why…" Paul answered.

"That doesn't make any sense, Paul," Misty said.

"You'll all see right now…"

XxXxXxX

Max stared shockingly at the scene he just witnessed. He had never seen Strength used in that way before. Max shook his head to regain his composure; the match was not yet finished, after all. "Come on, guys," He pleaded. "You have to get up," Slowly and shakily, Gallade and Sceptile arose from the ground and took a fighting stance. "Yes!" Max exclaimed. "Now use Dream Eater and Giga Drain on Snorlax!"

Both Pokémon quickly launched their attacks to the still-sleeping Snorlax. After a few seconds, their attacks finished and both Sceptile and Gallade felt rejuvenated with energy.

"Alright, since close-range attacks won't work, we'll try long-range," Max stated. "Sceptile, use Leaf Storm, and Gallade, use Magical Leaf on Donphan!"

Suddenly, numerous glowing leaves began surrounding Sceptile and colorful leaves appeared in front of Gallade. The Pokémon were just waiting for their trainer to give the order.

"This is the end for Donphan, Ash…" Max commented. He knew there was no way Donphan would able to withstand two powerful grass moves.

Ash smiled. "You're wrong, Max," He said to the young trainer. "This is actually the end of the battle for you…" He crossed his arms before he continued. "You've actually surprise me with your strategy, Max. I have to say you've become a great trainer…"

"I think you're bluffing, Ash. You don't know what you're going to do, so you're stalling to think of something," Max replied. "Go and attack Donphan now!"

"Use Hyper Beam!"

Max grinned. "I was preparing for Donphan to counter attack," He stated. "Dodge and launch the Leaf Storm and Magical Leaf!"

"Who said it was coming from Donphan?"

Max's eyes widened. "Wha-"

"SNOR!"

Max turned his head quickly only to see Snorlax fire a massive purple beam to his Pokémon, who were still focused on Donphan. "Quick, get out of the way!" It was too late, though. The massive Hyper Beam collided with Gallade and Sceptile causing a large explosion on the field. After a few seconds, the smoke from the explosion disappeared and the two Pokémon were visible on the ground with swirls in their eyes.

"Gallade and Sceptile are unable to battle!" Brock announced. "The winner of this battle is the Kalos Champion—Ash!"

Ash thanked his Pokémon and returned them into their respective Poké balls before walking over to a shocked Max. He reached the trainer who was attending to the fainted Pokémon and spoke. "That was a great match, Max," Ash stated. "If those grass moves hit Donphan, there is no doubt that it would've fainted. I was really lucky in this battle."

Max sighed. "Yeah, I guess so…"

Everyone had just finished arriving to their location to hear the discussion.

"That was a great battle, Max," May told her brother. "You really fought hard against Ash."

Max was still gloomy.

Paul walked up him and put his good arm on the young Maple's shoulder. "Don't get down on yourself…you did well today," He commented. "You actually had Ash on the ropes for a minute."

"Really?" Max was still not convinced.

"It's true," Ash added. "As I said I got lucky. You had a great plan that was working perfectly."

"Then what went wrong?" Max asked.

Ash was about to speak when Paul spoke up. "Let me answer this, Ash," He stated.

The Kalos Champion nodded to Paul.

"What went wrong was that you ignored Snorlax completely after you put it to sleep," Paul paused before he continued. "Normally, that'd be okay to do for any Snorlax because they love to sleep, but this isn't just anybody's Snorlax—in fact, this is Ash's Pokémon. With that in mind, you should treat it like if it's any other Pokémon. If you would've done that, then the results probably would've been different."

Max sighed again and looked down. "Yeah, I shouldn't have underestimated Ash's Pokémon," He said lowly. He then, however, looked up and smiled. "Still, I can't believe I lasted that long against a Champion!"

"That's right, Max," May said happily. She was glad that her brother was not feeling too down about the loss. "You should be proud to have battled for that long against the Kalos Champion."

Ash chuckled. "I was happy to have battled you," He told the young Maple. "Why don't we do it again some time, huh?"

"Yeah, and next time I'll win."

"Well, we'll have to wait and see won't we…"

Ash put his hand out to shake hands to which Max gladly accepted.

"Okay!" Dawn interrupted. "Enough with the battle for now. We all want to catch up with Ash, so where do we start?"

"How about we go eat and talk?" Ash asked.

Everyone gladly agreed.

Ash smiled. "Great! I've already made reservations for us at this amazing restaurant. It's actually not too far from here. Maybe about three blocks that way," He said pointing left from their location.

"So, what are we waiting for—let's go," Misty announced.

Everybody left to gather their things so that they could start heading to the restaurant. Ash did not move from his position and waited for his old friends to come back. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Ash…"

He opened his eyes and smiled. "Hey, May," He said happily. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, y-yeah I'm ready…" May replied nervously. _"Why is it so hard to talk to him?"_

"Alright, now we just have to wait for the others."

May sighed lowly. "Ash…" She said again.

The Kanto native looked at her worryingly.

"I-Is it okay if I…if w-we talk in private later?"

Ash grinned. "Of course, May," He answered. "That's fine by me."

May slightly blushed. "Okay…I'm looking forward to it."

Everyone had returned to Ash's location with their things ready to go.

"Are we all set?" Ash asked.

"Yes!" Everyone said.

"Alright, let's go."

 **I am so glad to finally be done with this chapter! Like I said I am sorry for taking so long guys, but I needed to figure out how this story was going to go. I will start the next chapter as soon as possible. How did you guys like it, though? I should have more time because I just finished my semester, too. So, expect chapters to come again.**

 **Don't forget to review!**

 **And if you all are following my other story,** ** _Timeflies_** **, I should be uploading another chapter for it, too. It's being worked on as you read this.**

 **See ya next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Pokémon.**

 **Chapter 13**

"You didn't need to pay for all of us, Ash."

"It was my treat, Misty," Ash replied. "I'm the one who invited all of you in the first place. It's only fair that I pay."

The group had gone to the restaurant that Ash had made reservations for and ate a delicious meal. Ash told them this was one of the most difficult places to make reservations for, but he reminded them that being Kalos Champion didn't hurt his or his friends' chances to eat there whenever he felt like it. He still, though, respected the establishment enough to always make reservations. They had just exited the restaurant when Misty spoke up.

"I still don't think that's how it should've been," Misty pouted.

"Fine," Ash merely shrugged. "But, I did it and it's done now, right? There's no point in arguing anymore."

Everyone else agreed with Ash and told Misty to let the subject go.

"I still can't believe you beat the Kalos League in your first try," Max said changing the topic. He recalled during the meal how Ash described his journey to become the Champion of Kalos. Ash mainly described all the opponents he faced to win the league, but Max only found the last challenger to be interesting. "You said you had to beat someone using a Mega Charizard different than yours?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah," he said. "He was using a Mega Charizard X which is different from—,"

"Why is it different?" The youngest Maple interjected.

"Charizard becomes a Dragon-type in that form. But, it's still a Fire-type, so my Greninja still had the advantage."

"True," Brock intervened. "Even if Charizard becomes a Dragon and Fire-type, Water Pokémon should still be able to do some tremendous damage. I don't see how you could lose in that match."

Max's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Oh man, I got to get myself a Mega Stone!"

Ash smiled. "I'll see what I can do for you, Max. They're pretty rare, but I've met a lot of people who specialize in finding them."

"Really?!"

"Yeah," he reassured. "You'll just have to give me some time, okay?"

Everyone saw Max jump in the air in joy.

May gave a soft look towards Ash and smiled. _"He still cares for Max like when we were younger…"_

"Alright," Ash said while raising his hands. "You've all made me talk about myself this whole time. I want to hear about all of you now. I know Paul's the Battle Pyramid King, Brock's a doctor, Max is a good trainer, and May and Dawn are doing great in coordinating, but what about the rest of you?"

Gary, Misty, and Tracey all told him something they have been doing in their lives. As the trainer could have guessed, Gary is following the footsteps of his grandpa, Misty is considered one of the strongest gym leaders and Water-type trainers, and Tracey is still helping Professor Oak around the laboratory.

Ash described some of the major landmarks as they continued walking around the city. They were just strolling and enjoying their old friend's company—most of them were. There was one person in the group that was getting annoyed.

"I'm tired of this crap," Paul said forcefully as he stopped walking. This caused everyone to turn and look towards the purple-haired trainer. They were confused by his sudden outburst. "We came to find Ash, and we did. I would say I'm leaving now, but I have something to look forward to here. With that being said…" He walked passed everyone to stand in front of Ash. "I want to continue battling against the Elite Four tomorrow."

"But you're not supposed to battle for two weeks," Dawn argued with her boyfriend. "Besides, you only needed to battle the Elite Four so that we could see Ash. It doesn't matter now that he's here!"

Paul never took his eyes off Ash and ignored her last statement. "I'll be fine," he replied still holding a serious expression and tone. "It's not like I'm going to be the one battling the Pokémon."

Dawn crossed her arms in frustration. "Fine…but don't expect me to go watch you!"

"I don't need you there."

Tracey placed a hand on Paul's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be there to watch you."

"I don't want you there."

Ash stared back at Paul and knew he was very determined about this. "You know, all you have to do is ask, and we can battle without you having to face the last two members."

"That's not my style," Paul responded while smirking. "I'm actually having fun beating down your 'strong' Elite Four, anyways."

Ash continued to gaze at the purple-haired trainer and thought about it for a moment. He then shrugged before responding. "Okay," he finally said. "If you really want to do it, then I'll let my manager know you'll be ready by tomorrow. Most likely the match will be at nine in the morning. Is that alright?"

Paul nodded. "Perfect." He then realized he would need to get his Pokémon ready for tomorrow and excused himself. "I need to prepare for my battle, so I'm going to head out." He bowed to Ash before continuing. "Thank you."

"We're friends, you know," the Kalos Champion reminded him. "There's no need to bow."

"Unlike you, Ash, I was taught to respect people in a high status. Even if we're friends, I'll show respect to everything you've accomplish."

"Well," Ash began, "in that case, I might as well and follow your example." He quickly bowed to Paul. He looked up and spoke. "In public, I'd gladly do it to you respect. When we're not in public, though, let's skip the formalities, yeah?"

"Fine by me…" With that the trainer turned around and began making his way towards the hotel.

"You're not gonna follow him, Dawn?" May asked.

Dawn simply closed her eyes and shook her head. "Nope. He doesn't want to listen to me, so I'm not gonna chase after him."

"You know that's exactly what he wants, right?" Brock stated. "For you to leave him alone right now…"

Dawn opened her eyes and realized he was right. "Hmm," she muttered. "It does seem like something he'd want…then that means I need to follow him to do what he doesn't want me to do."

"You're a very complicated person," Misty stated bluntly.

"Alright, so I'll head back there now," Dawn stated as she clenched her fists. She turned to the rest of her friends. "Does anybody want to go with me?"

"I was waiting for you to ask," Tracey said happily.

"I'm going to head out with them, too, May," Max told his sister. "I want to know what Pokémon he's going to use and what strategy he's gonna come up with."

May smiled and nodded. "Alright," she replied. "Then I'll see you back at the hotel later."

"Great, let's go!" Dawn cheered.

The trio began jogging back to see if they could catch up with Paul. The group, however, could still hear Tracey talking as they distanced themselves.

"So, do you think Paul will ever bow to me because of my status?" They heard.

"I wouldn't bet on it…"

As he focused on his remaining friends, Ash decided he would ask them what he they wanted to do. "There's a lot of things to do here—it's just a matter of picking something that interests you."

"Where exactly are we?" Misty asked looking around. "I can tell this is the Pokémon League, but does it have a name or something?"

Ash gave her a confused expression. "If you don't know what this place is called, how'd you all get here?"

"Paul knew how to get here," May interjected. "Or at least the Battle Pyramid did…"

Ash nodded in realization.

"Pikachu pi pika," Pikachu said happily.

"Don't listen to him," Ash told his friends. "It's not called Ash Land. It's just something he likes telling everyone for some reason." He quickly glanced at the mouse on his shoulders. "Just because there's a place with your name doesn't mean there should be one with mine. And Ash Land—really? You make it sound like a place that's full of dirt."

"Pika pika pikachu, Pikapi."

"Pikachu Land was already there before we visited it," Ash argued. "They didn't name it after you because you're cute and cuddly."

Everybody laughed the argument between the two. May then slowly approached the trainer and grabbed Pikachu from his shoulder.

"Hey, Pikachu!" She said while giving him a tight hug. "You were so quiet I forgot you were there!"

"Chaa," Pikachu chimed.

"So, does it have a name?" Misty insisted.

"Not really," Ash said while scratching his chin. "People still refer to it as the Pokémon League. There was just a city built around it to accommodate the Elite Four and Champion. When I won the league, everyone here knew I didn't have a place live—coming from Kanto, and all." He smiled before he continued. "So, being the nice people that they are, they decided to build a city around the Pokémon League to help me adjust to my new life."

"They built an entire city just to help you?" May asked astonishingly as she settled Pikachu between her arms.

"Well, yes and no," he contemplated. "It was something the Elite Four members and former Kalos Champion had been discussing before I won. They just couldn't find a reason to actually commit to it. When I won, though, they said it gave them the push to start it."

Gary crossed his arms and smirked. "Only you'd be able to get strangers to construct a city for you."

"In a way, it kinda was for me," Ash admitted. "But, I'll say that more people benefited from it than I did. I only got a place to live, but other people came here and started businesses which grew tremendously as crowds from all over came to see the Pokémon battles. And some of these people aren't just from the Kalos Region—they come from other regions, too. The perfect example being Steven's company which has a headquarters here. It was attacked the other day, but you know…" He trailed off as he made his point.

"So, you've done a lot for this place, huh?" Misty realized after he finished.

"I don't really like to think about it," Ash replied sheepishly.

There was a brief silence that settled in among the group.

Gary noticed it was getting late and slightly nudged Misty to get her attention. She saw him tap his wrist to indicate it was getting late. She nodded and spoke up.

"Uh, I think Gary and I are going to head back," Misty announced. "It's getting late, and we want to get up early, so we can go to Paul's match. Are you coming, too, Brock?"

Brock nodded. "Yeah, I'll go. I'm pretty tired."

"Alright," Gary said. He then walked over to Ash and put out his hand. "Congrats, Ash. I knew you'd be the one to make it big."

Ash smiled and shook his hand.

Brock decided to mimic Gary's actions and walked over to Ash to shake his hand. Surprisingly, however, Ash shook his hand and gave him a quick hug.

"I hope you know if it wasn't for you, I probably would've starved after leaving Pallet Town," Ash grinned stepping back.

Brock chuckled. "Don't forget the other four places we traveled together."

"I never do," he replied honestly. Ash watched Brock step aside, and Misty slowly approached him. She gave him a shy expression. Ash just opened his arms widely and waited for the Water-type trainer to do the rest. Misty shyly wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly—which Ash gladly reciprocated. "I guess you're happy now that Pikachu destroyed your bike, huh?"

Misty laughed while hugging him. She pulled away before speaking. "No, I'm still not happy about that," she said pretending to be angry even though she was smiling. "But, I am happy to have met you guys that day."

"So, we're not cool about the whole bike thing?"

"I'm trying to give you a compliment! Why can't you just accept it and shut up!" Misty yelled angrily. After hearing herself, she smiled again at the trainer. "You haven't change a bit, Ash."

Ash grinned. "Neither have all of you—it makes me happy."

Gary, Misty, and Brock turned and waved to Ash and May as they walked away from them. May told them she would return to the hotel after spending some more time with Ash. They nodded and said they would tell Max.

 _"_ _I can't believe I forgot about them,"_ Ash thought troublingly.

"Is something wrong, Ash?" May asked still holding Pikachu in her arms. She noticed a sad expression on his face and thought something was bothering him.

"Hmm," he said turning to May. "Oh, it's nothing. It's just been some time since I've seen all of you, that's all…I forgot how important you guys were in my life—are important in my life." He corrected.

"Well," May started as she smiled, "we haven't forgotten how important you are to us. That's why we came to Kalos in the first place."

Ash grinned. "I'm glad…I don't think I'll forget about you guys anymore. Though if you wanted to find me sooner, you could've just asked my mom where I was."

May opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. He was right. They did not even bother to call her in Pallet Town.

Ash noticed her shocked expression and laughed. "It's okay, May," he interrupted her thoughts. "I don't think it would've worked even if you thought of it."

"But, you're right," she argued. "We could've just called your mom to find out—even Professor Oak, maybe, if we didn't have your mom's number, so he could tell us."

"Trust me. It wouldn't have worked."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one my mom doesn't live in Pallet Town anymore," Ash explained. "And Professor Oak doesn't know where she is or have her number."

"Oh," May said surprisingly. "So, your mom lives with you here?"

"No, not in the hotel. She didn't want to," he answered truthfully. "She did, though, want to see all my battles as Kalos Champion, so she has a house just outside the city. I was going to head there before I go back to my suite…do you want to go with me? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you again."

"Sure, I'd love to see Delia again!" She said in excitement squeezing Pikachu a little tighter in the process. "Oh, sorry, Pikachu. I didn't mean it…"

Pikachu just waved her off before jumping on Ash's shoulder again.

"Alright, let's go," Ash stated.

It took the trio ten minutes to walk to the far west of the Pokémon League. Luckily, the more interesting places for people to visit were on the east side, so not many people noticed the champion walking around nonchalantly. When they exited the city, they walked through a small forest path for another five minutes. May could see light admitting in the distance as they approached the end of the path. When they reached the end, May viewed what she thought was a small neighborhood. The brunette looked around in amazement. The neighborhood, as May described it, was very well lit and consisted of five well-established two-story houses. They were each about twenty feet apart from each other and had beautiful gardens in the front; however, each was unique in their own way.

The first house on the far right was built like a medieval castle. It was white and had two large statues of knights on Rapidash facing each other on each side of the lawn. The knights' lances pointed and touched in the air over the path to the house. Any visitor would have to walk under the lances to get to the door.

The house next to it was very similar. May noticed this was more of a mansion than a castle. It was dark-purple in color with a hint of black in certain areas. The house had two statues on the lawn, but they weren't facing each other; they were looking away from the house. May recognized the Pokémon on them but wanted to clarify her assumption.

"Are those Dragonite, Ash?" She asked.

"Yeah," Ash confirmed looking at the stone artifacts.

May looked towards the next house and thought it was extremely beautiful. The third house was a dark-blue color with two large water fountains—one on both sides of the magnificent, green grass. The statue Pokémon on the water fountains were of Milotic spewing water from their mouths. May thought it was something she would have for herself. The last two houses confused her, though.

The fourth and five houses did not have statues on the grass to make them extraordinary. However, both houses had beautiful flowers blooming across the lawn which would made them stand out. The only difference, May figured, was the color of the houses. The fourth house was white with a light brown door while the last house was light pink with a light brown door.

May scanned all the houses and felt as she had seen these all before.

 _"_ _Well, at least the first-three,"_ she thought as they called more to her than the last two homes. _"There's something about them that seems familiar."_

"Come on," Ash said interrupting her thoughts. "My mom's home is the pink one right there." He pointed to the last building on the left. He and May strolled over to the house and walked up the door. Ash could see May eye the flowers as she passed by them. As they stood in front of the door, Ash and May could hear laughing coming from the other side. "So that's where you were…" He muttered.

"Where who is?" May questioned.

"Hmm? Oh, you'll see right now."

Ash turned the knob and opened the door only to see two of his Elite Four members laughing with his mom in the living room.

Delia focused on the door when it opened and saw her son come in. "Hi, Ash and Pikachu! I was wondering wha—oh, you brought home a new friend…?" She gave him a confused look after seeing the girl next to him. Her son did not bring a lot of people home as he did not want to give away this location to too many people.

"Mom, do you remember May?" Ash asked as he stepped aside to let his mom see his friend.

Delia narrowed her eyes to get a better view of the woman standing next to him. She immediately smiled and jumped from seat when she recognized her. "Oh, it is May!" Delia quickly moved to her and gave the younger brunette a tight hug.

May reciprocated the embrace and smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Ketchum," she stated as she finished the hug. She thought Ash's mom did not look any older than when the last time they met. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has. But, please call me Delia!"

May nodded.

"I can't believe how gorgeous you've become," Delia exclaimed causing May to blush from embarrassment. "Don't you think so, dear?"

"Mom, she's always been beautiful," Ash smiled while commenting.

This caused May to blush even more, so she looked away from them. She slowly glanced at the strong trainer. _"He's always seen me like that?"_

"Oh, come now, Delia," said a masculine voice from behind them. "Can't you see the poor lady is flushed from embarrassment."

May looked passed Ash's mom and saw the man Paul face for his first Elite Four battle—Wikstrom. She did not notice him because he was not wearing his metal suit. He was wearing blue jeans and a black shirt.

"Miss, why don't you come in and share in our endeavors," Wikstrom continued to May. "A friend of Ash is a friend of mine. Am I correct, Drasna?"

The dark-haired woman nodded before speaking. "Of course," she said. "Please, come and sit with us."

Delia signaled for them to enter while she closed the door behind them. Drasna invited May to sit between her and Wikstrom on the couch while Ash and Delia sat respectively in the other two couches. Pikachu jumped on Ash's lap and closed his eyes to take quick nap. Drasna decided to continue.

"So, tell me young lady," she started. "How do you know Ash so well?"

May stared at the woman before replying. It was weird to see someone so famous act so casually. She looked about the same age as Delia. "I traveled with him when we were younger," she said smiling.

"Interesting," Wikstrom intervened. "Tell me, did he always fashion himself hideously?"

"Says the man who wears a knight suit every day," Ash defended himself.

"Touché…"

Everyone laughed at the predicament.

"I said I was cooking today!" Came a voice from the kitchen.

"Mime Mime!"

Everyone turned to see a blond-haired man arguing with Mr. Mime.

"Siebold," Wikstrom yelled to the man. "Isn't it a bit ridiculous to bicker with Mr. Mime in front of a guest."

Siebold understood what Wikstrom was saying when he noticed May sitting next to him and Drasna. He stopped arguing, walked over to them, and bowed. "My apologies," he specifically told May. "I didn't know Ash was bringing company."

"I was wondering why you weren't at the restaurant today," Ash spoke up. "The waiter told me you went home early."

"Yes, well, I was going to stay when I heard you made reservations, but Delia called to invite me to lunch and dinner," Siebold replied sheepishly. "And you know very well your mom has priority over you."

Wikstrom and Drasna both nodded it was true.

Ash sighed and noticed May's confused expression. "Oh, sorry, May," he said. "Siebold is the owner and head chef at the restaurant we ate at earlier. He's also a member of my Elite Four."

Siebold bowed in acknowledgment.

"I didn't know he owned the restaurant from before, but I kinda figured he was part of your Elite Four," May clarified. She glanced towards Drasna and Wikstrom before continuing. "I saw them battle against Paul these past couple of days."

"I knew you looked familiar," Drasna exclaimed. "You were on the stands when I battled him."

Wikstrom opened his mouth to confirm his suspicions as well when Ash cut him off.

"Speaking of Paul," he turned to Siebold again. "He's gonna be ready to battle tomorrow, so I just want to give you the heads up to be ready."

The blond-haired man frowned. "I won't be able to battle with him tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"I have an emergency I have to attend to, remember."

"Oh yeah, I remember," Ash nodded and ran his hands through his as he recalled the event. "You did say it would be perfect because he was hurt, so you wouldn't miss his battle as he took time to heal…dang."

"He could always skip me," Siebold suggested. "I can face him when I get back…that is, if he wins."

"True, he can always battle you some other time," Ash brightened at the thought. He turned to see if his other member was here. "Where is—,"

"She's not here," Drasna interrupted as she laid back in the couch. "She said she was going to get to dessert. And you know how she is…she'll be back with boxes full of pastries."

For another twenty minutes, the Elite Four members and Delia told May embarrassing stories that happened to Ash throughout the years in the Kalos Region. The brunette would laugh and ask Ash if they were true to which he would nod in regret. It was only until the last tale that Drasna told that Ash decided to defend himself.

"Oh, oh," the dark-haired woman started. "Do you all remember when he and Wikstrom tried to stop the water from overflowing in the Flood Chamber without getting wet?"

Everyone but May laughed.

Siebold quickly explained to May how his chamber looked, so she could understand why it was so funny. She then giggled thinking it would be impossible to do such a thing.

"In my defense," Ash countered. "Wikstrom said it could be done—it'd just be a challenge, that's all."

"So, you did it without getting wet?" May stopped laughing to ask.

"Well, no…"

"They came home soaked in their clothes!" Delia stated smiling.

"I'll admit, it was not my brightest idea," Wikstrom murmured shaking his head.

"You said we wouldn't get wet," Ash argued.

"I made an error. It happens."

"You said you brought protection!"

"I was wearing my armor!"

Everyone laughed once more.

Ash sighed before looking at the clock on the wall. He saw it was getting late and decided he would say his goodbyes for now.

"Okay, I think we're going to head out now," Ash stated while grabbing Pikachu and standing up. "I'm pretty sure Ed is wondering why I'm not in the suite." He walked over and gave his mom a hug. "I'll be back tomorrow."

Delia stepped back and smiled. "That's fine, dear. You said you're coming for dinner, right?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "I'll be busy in the morning, but I'm free in the afternoon."

"Good." She turned to May, who had stood up as well, and spoke. "I want you to come, too, May."

"O-Oh, I don't want to disturb—,"

"You won't be disturbing anything," Delia reassured with a beautiful smile. "It will be fun. Just the three of us!"

May briefly thought about it before nodding happily.

"Great!"

Ash and May said goodnight to everyone else before walking out the door. They had walked to the forest path when May spoke up.

"Um, Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Y-You said you were gonna be busy in the morning?" May asked nervously.

"No, not really," Ash concluded while letting Pikachu climb on his shoulder. "It's just if I tell my mom I'm free, she'll make me go grocery shopping with her. I don't mind, but Ed would go crazy and that's never fun for me…why? Did you want to spend the day with me?"

May's face reddened after hearing his suggestion. Luckily, it was already late that the darkness hid her reaction.

"I-I mean if you don't want me around, I can go always go see Paul's match…"

Ash smiled brightly. "Sounds like fun! I know you wanted to talk in private, too, so we can do that then. I'd say let's talk now, but it is pretty late, and I'm sure Max is wondering where you are right now."

"Yeah…you're probably right." May frowned slightly. She was having so much fun she forgot her brother would be worrying where she was.

Ash pulled out a Poké ball and threw it in the air.

"RAA!"

"Hey, buddy," Ash began to Charizard when he appeared. "You think you can take us back into town?"

Charizard looked and saw May before lowing himself to allow them to get on.

"Hi, Charizard," May said while petting him. "I didn't get to say hi earlier…it's been a while."

The Fire-type merely grunted. Pikachu, who was quiet throughout the whole night, jumped on Charizard's back and quickly made his way on his head. Charizard said a quick hello before turning his attention back to Ash and May. The trainer jumped on first before helping May get on behind him.

"Hold on tight, okay," he said.

"O-Okay," she stated. May slowly put her arms around Ash's waist. When Charizard ascended from the ground, he quickly took off at an incredible speed which caused May to grab Ash tighter and hide her face in Ash's back. She could feel the strong winds blow her hair back and thought she might fall off if she loosened her grip in any way.

Ash could feel May's grip become fierce and realized she was hiding her face. He patted Charizard twice to let him know to slow down a little to which the Fire-type reluctantly complied to.

"May, why don't you take in the view?"

"No, I'm fine," she yelled into his back. "I'm just trying not to fly off, you know."

Ash chuckled. "It's alright now," he reassured. "Charizard slowed down a little. It's safe to take in the scenery."

May cautiously lifted her head and opened her eyes only to be astonished. She could see all the lights in city reflect the stars in the clear night. She then looked up and saw a full moon shining brightly across the sky.

"It's nice, huh?"

"It's beautiful, Ash…" May said in amazement still looking around.

"I thought you'd might like it," Ash stated. "I enjoy coming up here on days like this. It calms me down and reminds me that things can be slowed down…if not for just a moment." He paused before continuing. "Sometimes I don't know how I became the Kalos Champion, so I fly to remind myself who I am—to remember who I was. I'll admit being the champion can get the best of me, and I become someone I don't even know." Ash turned to May and smiled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just talk like that. I can get caught up in a moment like this."

May, however, embraced the trainer and laid her head on his back. "You don't need to apologize, Ash," she started in a low voice while grinning. "We all have days like that…but, you have us who will always be there for you." She thought briefly about her next statement before continuing confidently. "I-I will always be there for you…"

"I know I can count on you and everybody else," Ash replied focusing his attention back to flying.

It took Charizard five minutes to get to and land on the roof of the hotel May was staying at. Ash and May got off while Pikachu stayed on Charizard to talk with him.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then…" May said shyly.

"Yeah, I'll be here in the morning," Ash said while nodding. "I mean I won't here on the roof, but…you know what I'm saying."

May giggled. "Yeah, I know, Ash…"

Ash gave her a quick hug before turning back to Charizard.

May continued to gaze at him as he walked away.

 _"_ _You should do say something else before he leaves,"_ she thought. _"But what?"_

Ash turned and waved to her.

 _"_ _You've waited all this time to be alone with him, and you're just gonna watch him leave!"_

Ash gracefully jumped on Charizard's back.

 _"_ _I should wait just tell him tomorrow, maybe…"_

Ash waved to her once more before focusing on his Pokémon again.

 _"_ _No…be confident!"_ May quickly shook her head. "A-Ash!"

The trainer turned his head to see May running towards him. She seemed worried about something, so Ash quickly got off Charizard. She was standing in front of him when jumped off. He noticed she was breathing slowly, yet heavily.

"What's up, May?" He asked concerningly. "Did you forget something?"

"I, um…I just wanted to a…" May trailed off. She felt extremely nervous and could not think of the words to say. She then decided to let her actions speak for her. She, suddenly, closed her eyes and moved forward to close the distance between them—kissing Ash softly on the lips.

Ash's eyes went wide in surprise as he wasn't sure if this was really happening. However, before he could make his own move, May had pulled away and smiled softly.

"Goodnight, Ash," she said with her face visibly red. May turned and ran to the door leading back into the hotel.

"What just happened?" He said to no one. Ash watched her enter the building before slowly turning back to his Pokémon. Their reactions surprised the trainer. "I'm guessing you guys saw that, too." He saw Pikachu with his mouth open in shock while Charizard was grinning and giving him a thumbs-up. "I think I kinda have to agree with Pikachu on this one, Charizard."

The Fire-type huffed loudly and threw the mouse off his head in disappointment.

 _"_ _Did that just happen?"_ He kept thinking as he saw his Pokémon argue. _"I hope that doesn't happen with all my friends when we're alone."_

 **Alright, that's it for this chapter. It's been a while since I've uploaded this story, but it's been hard to figure out the direction it's going in. With that being said, I'm glad I finally finished it. I'm hoping this story will get better for you all.**

 **I begin my semester next week, so I'll try to update whenever I can. Honestly, this story is my priority because it's my first one, so I'll do my best.**

 **Like I said, I hope this one is getting better, and I hope this chapter helps its progress. Let me know what you like, what you didn't like, and I'll do better next time for you all.**

 **-RedHood06**


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